THE chilly temperatures forecast for Easter appear to have killed off any hopes of a bumper start to the peak tourist season.

With much of Britain currently gripped in a cold spell that shows little sign of easing, hoteliers fear this Easter holiday will be one to forget.

Both Poole and Bournemouth have plenty of vacancies and it appears than only a dramatic change of weather can change their fortunes.

Poole tourism manager Graham Richardson said: “It looks like it's going to be a busy weekend with a number of activities and events going on in the town but the poor weather means the town's not going to be full, accommodation-wise, unless we get a late show of sunshine.

“There are going to be rooms around over Easter. With Easter being early and the unseasonal cold weather it's obviously having an effect.”

And Paul Clarke, the general manager of the Menzies East Cliff Court Hotel and chair of the Bournemouth Accommodation and Hotel Association, said many hoteliers were grateful for the large NASUWT conference at the BIC, which had helped boost bookings. He said smaller hotels had a mix of lodge bookings, wedding associated business and coach tours that had been booked well in advance.

“It is fair to say without the town event and the beer festival at the BIC, a lot of hotels would not have comparable occupancy year on year,” he said.

“There is general consensus that all accommodation providers do not have the leisure business expected for this two week Easter period partly driven by the weather and reluctance to book in advance.

“The intermittent weather around the country has certainly impacted leisure guests who are physically unable to leave their homes due to the snow. Let's not also forget that last year we were experiencing a heatwave, which really benefitted everyone.

“The current trend is for people to book last minute at the best deal they can get, so in general if the sun shines and it is well publicised we are all confident that bookings will naturally improve.”

Easter is one of the most important times of the year for garden centre owners but across the country many say business has yet to pick up.

Martin Stewart, managing director at Stewart's garden centres, said yesterday: “It's a concern that the build up to Easter has been cold but even today it's warmer and the wind has died a bit. Maybe, just maybe, it will be better than we thought.

“I'm really philosophical about these things. Easter is important and we could do with it being a bit warmer but I'm fairly optimistic.”