Credit Crunch

The weather may be unreliable and people are feeling the pinch but that hasn't deterred thousands of holiday makers from coming to Weymouth's golden sands for their annual holiday.

Weymouth remains a favourite with families. Beverley Kilvington-Mason and her family travelled 350 miles in her camper van from Richmond in North Yorkshire for a week's stay.

Weymouth Beach, August 2008.

She said, "We've got three children so it's really expensive to go abroad now... Weymouth is quite cheap actually. Ice cream and fish and chips are cheaper than at home."

Not everyone is convinced that staying in the UK is cost effective.

Mother of two Tracy Eggington from Sheffield said, "I don't think it's that much cheaper here in the summer holidays because everywhere you go the prices go up. If the weather's not great, you're paying to entertain the children which does put the cost up a little bit."

Strong euro

Hoteliers and bed and breakfast owners have often complained about the tourists preferring to go abroad but this year, things appear to be different.

Dave Taylor who runs the Chatsworth Hotel on the Esplanade said, "It's definitely up (on last year), there are definitely a lot more people in town."

Hotels on Weymouth's Esplanade.

Dave could fill his rooms several times over due to a rise in enquiries particularly from abroad where tourists from France, Spain, Portugal and Germany are asking about vacancies. "It's now cheaper to come to Britain because the euro is a lot stronger than the pound at the moment."

His guests though are not necessarily prepared to pay the top price even for a good quality room with all the added extras such as toiletries, tea and coffee and fresh flowers.

Many prospective holiday-makers will try, usually in vain to haggle down the price.

Short breaks

The nature of the business has changed. Whereas once people would book in January for a week in August, now the hotels, guest houses and caravan parks fill up much later as people leave their holiday options open.

The Eggingtons from Sheffield.

They come for shorter periods of time and they're more likely to visit out of the peak season when it's quieter and probably less expensive.

Tourism is estimated to be worth £400m to Weymouth each year. The tourists may be watching what they spend but that appears to be benefiting those whose livelihoods depend on the town's biggest industry.