Barbecue Summer? Maybe not.

The Met Office is forecasting that August will continue with the same wet and windy weather we've seen in July. And the poor old forecasters are being criticised - and worse there are allegations that they have been 'got at by tourism chiefs' who apparently pressurised them to publicise the good summer ahead way back in April in a bid to encourage holidaying at home. Conspiracy theories abound!
So will this mean a mad dash for overseas sunshine this autumn or will the credit crunch prevail? There is a chink of sunlight however with a highly provisional suggestion that late August might see some better weather. So keep the tents packed until then I say.

Moral candyfloss

Too bad Radio 4's Moral Maze tonight on Ethical Tourism failed to feature any professional voices from our world of sustainable tourism development and planning - yet that didn't stop them from discussing the impact of tourism on communities and environments. But why am I surprised that this normally heavyweight and thought-provoking programme went all lightweight and fluffy when it took on the topic of tourism?

To stay ... or not to stay

No sooner had The Guardian announced on Friday that "staycationing is on the rise" than The Times Weekend countered with the coverline "Cancel the Staycation!" - reminding its readers that it had rained on St Swithin's Day, so "if the staycation suddenly seems like a bad idea, there are still plenty of bargains abroad".

So, despite the thousand-and-one excellent reasons for British people to stay in the UK this summer, our destination marketers still have their work cut out ...

Second Sight

We've just had two proposals rejected because we exceeded the (invisible) budget.

We may be relatively (and reassuringly) Stella at Blue Sail, but unfortunately we're not psychic.

If clients gave consultants a rough idea of budgets, and asked us what we could do within that, they would get a variety of proposals within their price range that were truly comparable and quite possibly more creative.

Recession proof

Bang up-to-date market trends from today's Sunday Times magazine (I'm part of one of these trends - can you guess which one?):

> We’re rediscovering the great British holiday camp: Butlins’ bookings are up 15% on last year

> We’re relishing good old-fashioned comfort food: Bird’s custard powder sales are up 17% and Fray Bentos steak-and-mushroom pies 42%

> We’re turning to the bottle less: beer sales for the first quarter of 2009 are down 8.2%

> We’re buying fewer cars, and keeping our old ones going for longer: car sales are down 24% and spending on spare parts is up 35%

> We’re developing a sweeter tooth: we spent £2.6 billion on sweets and sugary snacks from October to December 2008, an 8.1% increase

> We’re looking for love: the online dating site Match.com has seen a 35% increase in new sign-ups

> We’re enjoying escapism: cinema attendance figures are up 7.5%

> We’re craving culture: over the second quarter of this year, takings from London plays were up 29%

> We’re staying in: the online DVD rental company Lovefilm.com has seen its membership increase by 20% over the past six months

> We’re bargain-seeking: sales at Oxfam shops were up 5% in 2008 from 2007

> We’re being inventive: Durex Play range, which includes lubricants and sex toys, is up 17.1%

Economic recession bites

According to UNWTO international tourism is set to decline between 4 % and 6% this year. So far this year Europe is suffering even more with a drop of 10%. And they say that 2010 is also set to be 'difficult'.