AUGUST holiday bookings have been even worse than last year due to the bad weather, Bournemouth hoteliers have told the Daily Echo.

Bookings for the bank holiday and air show weekend are looking better - but cautious holidaymakers have sought to avoid this year's wind and rain, after last year's downpours.

The weather forecast for the holiday weekend is looking better than the dreary recent weeks.

Adrian Wright, the general manager of the 76-bed Menzies Carlton Hotel on Bournemouth's East Cliff, said: "August has been worse than last year.

"We knew it was going to be last minute bookings because of the credit crunch. People have waited for the weather and because it has changed they are going abroad.

"Even regulars who have been coming for 20 or 30 years have gone abroad this year. The bank holiday weekend is looking good, we can't grumble. We will be nearly full."

Wesley Funnell, the sales manager of the Trouville Hotel in Priory Road, said: "This year August has been quieter than last year.

"The air show is looking busier than the bank holiday."

Pradip Patel of the Lynden Court Hotel in Durley Road said: "The weekends are full because we have a lot of stag and hen bookings "But I would say weekday bookings are 25 per cent of last year. People are seeing the bad weather and cancelling their bookings.

"A few weeks ago when it was sunny we were full."

Tony Wilson, operations manager for the three-star, 109-bed, Queens Hotel in Meyrick Road, said: "August's not been too bad but it could have been far better if the weather had been better."

Another hotelier, who declined to give her name, said: "Yes, we are certainly down on last year. We haven't been getting the bookings over the last month and we have had cancellations.

"The air show weekend, we are always full with the Dorset Steam Fair, so it would have been nice if Bournemouth Tourism had put the show in October or sometime when it is quiet.

"The bank holiday weekend is not looking great. It's vitally important to do well at this time of year because we have to support ourselves out of season."