Rather than the traditional Spanish and Greek fortnight in the sun, families are flocking to regional holiday destinations to make their money go further.

Ferry Meadows Caravan Park is often one of the busiest holiday spots in the city, regularly attracting thousands of tourists to Peterborough every year.

And despite a poor weather forecast for the weekend, this Saturday and Sunday will be the busiest of the year so far for the attraction, near the city centre.

Ferry Meadows Caravan Site Warden Lynne Clark said: "We have seen a huge amount of people booking to come here, and we are expecting a lot of arrivals at the weekend. We will be full to bursting point."

And while a large number will be from across the country, many will also be travelling a relatively short distance to the park.

Mrs Clark said: "We have a lot of Irish and Scottish visitors at the moment, as their school holidays are on at the moment.

"We also get a few people from the continent, but there are quite a lot from nearby, and we are expecting more throughout the summer."

One attraction that has seen an upturn in bookings is the Deepings Caravan Park, in Market Deeping.

While it struggled to attract families last season, owner Darren Young said that bookings were a lot higher in 2008.

He said: "We are definitely busier this year.

"This time last year we had a lot more cancellations than bookings, maybe because of the floodings in Sheffield and Lincolnshire. I think a lot of people thought that the whole county was under water.

"But this year we have a lot of people from the surrounding area coming to us, with many from the Nottingham area or even closer."

Other city attractions are also seeing increased visitor numbers.

Peterborough City Council's tourism services manager Linda Wills said: "Early indications are that families are deciding to stay at home and take the children to local attractions.

"Last weekend, Nene Valley Railway, at Wansford, hosted a Thomas themed event and it was the best weekend the attraction has ever experienced in terms of attendance. Sacrewell Farm and Country Centre at Thornhaugh is also certainly seeing a lot of families through the gates."

The tourist industry is one of the biggest earners for the city, and in 2004 Peterborough made more than £170 million from tourism, with 222,000 people visiting the top five tourist attractions in the city the following year.