Chester Zoo is hosting a weather summit today, Monday, July 13, bringing together the Met Office, government officials, and heads of 16 of the UK's biggest visitor attractions. The event follows the zoo's March warning that misleading rain icons on weather apps could cost some attractions up to £137,000 in a single day—a call backed by more than 80 attractions, including the Eden Project, RHS Gardens, Blackpool Pleasure Beach, and Blenheim Palace.
Campaign and Backing
The group argued the problem isn't forecast accuracy, but how it's displayed, with a brief overnight shower sometimes shown as an all-day washout. Since the campaign launched, the Met Office has engaged constructively with the tourism sector, leading to today's summit.
Dom Strange, Chief Operating Officer of Chester Zoo, said: “In March we said the problem wasn't the forecast, it was the single icon used to sum up an entire day. Since then, we've had constructive conversations with the Met Office, and this summit is the next step. Getting government and 16 of the country's biggest attractions round the same table is a real opportunity. We want to leave this room with recommendations we can actually put into practice.”
Summit Details and Delegates
Chaired by Visit Britain board member Nigel Wilkinson MBE, the summit will bring together around 30 delegates, including:
- The Head of Domestic Tourism from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS)
- Senior Met Office figures, including the Head of the Public Weather Service and the Head of Science
- Representatives from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology
- CEOs and directors from 16 of the UK's leading visitor attractions, including Chester Zoo, Zoological Society of London, the Treasure Houses Group, Bletchley Park, and Go Ape
Impact and Research
New research from Chester Zoo and tourism consultancy Navigate, surveying UK visitor attractions, found more than 60% experience a drop in visitors of over 40% following a poorly displayed weather forecast, with some reporting declines of more than 50%.
Attractions are proposing fixes, including splitting each day into shorter time slots—as used by Norwegian forecaster YR, which breaks a 24-hour period into four six-hour windows so a brief early-morning shower doesn’t skew the picture for the rest of the day. Navigate’s survey found more than 80% of attractions saw this kind of approach as a useful solution. Other suggestions include clearer written summaries and a "dry hours" indicator.
Wider Support and Outlook
Since the original call in March, support has spread beyond the visitor attractions sector, with organisations including the National Association of British Market Authorities, the National Market Traders Federation, and UK Events adding their backing—a sign, organisers claim, of how widely weather-dependent trading affects the UK economy.
Olly Reed, Marketing Director at Navigate, said: "Our latest data shows this issue hasn't gone away, it's become more significant. In March we were talking about a 30% drop in visitors from a misleading rain icon. Today, some attractions are reporting losses of more than 50%. The difference now is that the people who can influence what happens next are in the room. That's the point where a campaign becomes change."
