The Met Office has responded after 80 leisure attractions pooled together to complain about misleading weather icons that drastically impact attendance.

Led by Cheshire Zoo, attractions including the Eden Project, RHS Gardens, Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Blenheim Palace stressed that a single raincloud icon summarising a 24-hour period can be incredibly detrimental to sales, even if much of the day is dry. Some visitor attractions reported that attendance dropped by up to 30% following an unfavourable forecast. “When families see a raincloud icon, many simply stay home. The reality might be a brief shower at 6am – but the symbol suggests a washout,” said Dom Strange, Chief Operating Officer of Chester Zoo.

“The Met Office is the UK’s most trusted weather authority and in a unique position to help lead the way on clearer forecasting so other apps follow their lead.

“With today’s data and technology, there’s an opportunity to present forecasts in a way that better reflects how the day will actually feel on the ground.”

This group is not challenging forecast accuracy, but how the information is visually presented, particularly by third-party apps that may show overnight rain as an all-day rain symbol.

They have called for a roundtable with the Met Office, the Government and major weather app developers to explore practical improvements.

These include separate daytime and overnight weather icons, clearer written summaries such as “showers early, brighter later” and indicators showing the proportion of expected dry hours.

The Met Office said it was working on improvements.

The companies explained that families often make last-minute decisions based on forecasts. James Cox, director of marketing, sales and PR at Blackpool Pleasure Beach Resort, said that a significant amount of their bookings come within 24 hours before any given day, because people rely on the weather icon.

“In the current economic climate, we know only too well that families see a leisure day out as a considered investment, rather than the throwaway discretionary spend of old,” he said. “The impact of the weather forecast is therefore intensified, particularly for outdoor attractions.”

Across the 50 sites supported by tourism consultancy, Navigate, attendance patterns were closely tracked against forecasts.

Marketing Director, Olly Reed, said that when an unfavourable weather icon appeared, visits could drop by an average of around 30%, across a diverse portfolio of heritage sites, gardens, zoos and theme parks.

“Bookings don’t just shift with the weather itself, they shift with how that weather is framed. In a sector driven by spontaneity, small design choices in forecast presentation can have disproportionate economic consequences.”

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