Staycations sent soaring by summer's heatwaves

46C Med hotspots shunned for British beaches

- By Chris Riches

SEASIDE towns enjoyed a booming August thanks to extreme heatwaves in the Mediterranean, which made holidaymakers opt for staycations instead of heading abroad.

Place Informatics, a leading authority on visitor behaviour, said the UK's tourism destinations particularly our coastal towns outperformed normal trends, with soaring numbers of guests.

The destination that saw the biggest rise in visitors was St Annes, near Blackpool in Lancashire, which boasts a wide beach with sand dunes and modern beach huts, a Victorian pier, and plush hotels.