‘This isn’t about questioning the accuracy of weather forecasts, it’s about how they’re presented and therefore how they are interpreted’
Adventure play attraction William’s Den, at North Cave(Image: Darren Casey)
An East Riding visitor attraction has joined a rallying call from UK destinations for changes to be made to weather apps, claiming misleading information could be costing them thousands in lost revenue. William’s Den, the indoor and outdoor play centre in North Cave, Brough, has joined more than 80 UK tourism businesses urging the Met Office to alter how they display forecasts.
They say a solo raincloud icon on weather forecasts to summarise a day often puts off visitors, suggesting the day may be a washout even when most of it is set to be dry. The campaign is being led by Chester Zoo and includes attractions such as the Eden Project, RHS Gardens, Scunthorpe’s Pink Pig Farm, and Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
With spring arriving next weekend and the Easter holidays imminent, outdoor attractions are entering a vital trading period when last-minute, weather-dependent visits can make a significant difference to annual revenue. Some venues estimate a single unfavourable weather icon could cost as much as £137,000 in one day.
Co-founders of William’s Den, Tor and Christian Carver said: “Like many family attractions, at William’s Den we see first-hand how much the weather influences people’s plans. A lot of our visits are spontaneous and families often decide on the morning of the day out so a quick glance at a weather app can make a big difference. When people see a rain cloud icon covering the whole day, it can easily give the impression that it’s going to be a washout for the hours we are open.”
Christian adds: “We’ve had days where the forecast icons suggested rain all day, but in reality the rain is due to end by the time we open or maybe it’s not due to start until towards the end of the day. As an indoor and outdoor attraction built around play, this can have a negative impact on visitor numbers.
“That’s why we’re proud to support the campaign led by Chester Zoo. This isn’t about questioning the accuracy of weather forecasts, it’s about how they’re presented and therefore how they are interpreted. We’d simply like to see clearer visual summaries that reflect when the majority of the day will actually be dry, so families feel confident heading out and making the most of their time together.”
Sally Jackson of Scunthorpe’s Pink Pig Farm added: “For the majority of our visitors, the weather app is an essential tool for deciding whether to visit or not. If the app shows ‘65% chance of rain’, it is easy to assume that you may have a chance of rain all day when in fact it’s a 65% chance of rain for a very small amount of time.
“This misguided weather reporting unintentionally affects our visitor numbers. Our business is very much embedded in the community and funds go back into the local community through wages and suppliers. When our takings are down, the whole local economy is affected. We are asking the Met office and others to consider a more accurate way of reporting so as not to deter visitors.”
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Dom Strange, chief operating officer of Chester Zoo, which is leading the call, said: “As the national zoo and one of the UK’s leading attractions, we’re speaking up for the wider visitor economy – from heritage sites to theme parks – and the thousands of jobs that depend on spontaneous visits.”
The group’s letter to the Met Office calls for a meeting, saying: “We are not questioning the long-established science behind your work; rather we would welcome the opportunity to better understand the methodology behind how data is presented – and explore whether things could be done differently, particularly via third party apps.
“To this end, we propose a roundtable discussion bringing together the Met Office, leading UK visitor attractions, the relevant Minister, and key app developers to explore an effective answer to this problem – and discuss how your influence could help shape improvements across third party platforms. Possible solutions could include splitting icons into day and night conditions; adding concise summaries like “showers early, brighter later;” or introducing simple indicators, such as a percentage bar showing expected dry hours.
“Our shared goal is to ensure families have clear, useful information that supports informed decisions, without unintended consequences for the visitor economy.”
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