British Summer Time officially starts tomorrow – and tourist attractions across Leicestershire are hoping for a bit of sunshine to clear away the dark clouds of the recession.

As the clocks go forward, businesses say they desperately want to avoid a repeat of the last two washout summers.

They are optimistic that the credit crunch will lead to more tourists staying in the UK and visiting the attractions on their doorstep.

Nick Hamilton, who runs Barnsdale Gardens, in Exton, near Oakham, and also sits on the Rutland Tourism Committee, said: "The last two summers have been disastrous for us, but this summer we are very optimistic. Since the end of the snow, I would say we have already seen a 20 to 25 per cent increase in the number of visitors for this time of year. It is a good sign of things to come.

"I think tourist attractions will do better in a recession than in a boom. People are staying closer to home. Many of the attractions and hotels in Rutland have already seen a better turnout than expected."

Last year, there was just over 100 hours of sunshine in August, much less than the average of 178 hours for the month.

Although there was a good start to the summer, with temperatures reaching 23.3C (74F) in May – higher than in Barcelona, Athens and Venice.

In 2007, there was three times more rain than usual during the summer months.

Last year, Twycross Zoo saw up to 1,000 fewer customers each day because of the poor weather.

This year, it has unveiled a host of new attractions to pull in the crowds whatever the weather.

Spokeswoman Kim Riley said: "We've got lots of things going on – a new children's world, an 1897 carousel and keeper talks. With the economic downturn and people not being able to afford to go away, we think they will be looking at days out. So after last year's bad weather, we've really looked at things that will get the crowds in even if it is raining."

Wistow Maze, near Wigston, had to close for several days in 2008 because of the bad weather.

Diana Brooks, who runs the maze which opens this year on July 18, said: "Last year was the worst year we have ever had. This year we are going ahead with it and keeping our fingers crossed that the weather can not be as bad again and that people are looking for cheaper days out like this."

Tom Duffin, of Stonehurst Family Farm, in Mountsorrel, said: "Hopefully, this will be a good summer. We offer a cheap family day out which is what people are looking for at the moment, if they would rather stay local. We are open all year around, but with Easter and the start of lambing soon, we will start to see if we are going to get a rise in visitors."

Mercury weatherman Dave Mutton said he was optimistic over the weather this summer – and said today was the last blast of winter.

He said: "Tomorrow looks a lot better with temperatures up to 10C and quite a lot of sunshine. Next week, there will be some high pressure so there should be plenty of sunshine.

"We have had a very cold winter - and it often happens that this is followed by a good summer."