Weston's the Midlands on Sea
Forget the foreign sun – thousands of West Midlanders will be taking a gamble with the British weather over the summer holidays and staying at home.
A large proportion of them will be heading to Weston-super-Mare, now so much associated with people from this region that locals nickname the resort 'Midlands on Sea'.
Not that people in the North Somerset town are complaining. Given the right weather, home-grown tourism can boost the local economy by millions of pounds.
Weston is a bustling seaside resort. Weston Bay has miles of clean golden sand, an award winning Grade II listed Grand Pier, a level promenade and the famous Weston donkeys.
A wide variety of shops, amusement arcades and eateries also help make it a popular destination for Midlanders who face a journey of just over 100 miles to get their fix of sun, sea and sand.
Down the road there is the Victorian resort of Clevedon, together with Burnham-on-Sea, Cheddar Gorge and Glastonbury Tour. Julia Stuckey destinations manager for North Somerset Council said: "We see over six million people coming to North Somerset over the whole year and 34 per cent of those are from the Midlands. That's our largest number from one area.
"Many of them like it so much that they stay. We have hoteliers who came from the Midlands to visit and wanted to stay so set up in business, which is very positive for the area. Weston-super-Mare is popular because it is just over an hour away from the Midlands and has so many things to do.
"This weekend for instance there is national water ski racing and the pop concert T4 on the beach.
"And we currently have thousands visiting our sand sculptures – 5,000 came to see the figures, based on fairytales, in the first weekend – and we have the World Sand Sculpture Academy here.
"Midlanders help to keep our economy buoyant but at the same time our prices are reasonable and there are a number of free things to do such as enjoying a walk in our beautiful countryside."
Many families will choose not to venture too far out of their own Black Country back yards when it comes to finding things to do in the summer holidays. An increasing number of people prefer to take advantage of the attractions that lie closer to home.
Bosses at Black Country Tourism agree that a wealth of things to do on the doorstep proves a real tonic to banish boredom while keeping costs down.
BCT marketing and campaigns manager Katherine Birch said: "With many attractions free of charge to visit, it's not surprising that more people are choosing to stay in the Black Country this summer, it's worth staying home for."
The Heart of England Route of Industrial Heritage was also launched this week, directing visitors to attractions in this area like the Black Country Living Museum, Ironbridge and the Severn Valley Railway.
