By Olly Reed, Marketing Director
Forecast? Misleading.
Every weather app showed a raincloud during the first week of the Easter holidays. But look closer. It wasn't going to rain during the day, was it? No. It was going to rain between 1am and 3am. That's not the family day out window. That's bat hours. Fox time. Owl o'clock. The sort of rain that dampens hedgehogs but not human plans. Yet across the board, Met Office, BBC, Apple Weather, Google, and more, there was one sad little cloud slapped onto Saturday like a national warning. And for thousands of tourism businesses, that single symbol can tank an entire day's trade.
At Navigate, we track weather impact across over 50 visitor destinations in the UK, from wildlife parks to castles and aquariums to museums. We've seen the correlation repeatedly, when the forecast shows "rain", bookings drop, car parks stay empty, and events go under-attended (apart from the aquariums). Not because it's actually raining, but because it might rain, at some point, somewhere.
We all understand that weather is difficult to predict. The UK climate, in particular, is notoriously fickle, and meteorologists deserve more credit than they get. But this isn't about the science behind the forecast. It's about how that information is communicated and the ripple effects it causes.
Most weather apps rely on a single icon to summarise the conditions for a full 24-hour day. And in doing so, they prioritise simplicity over accuracy. Two hours of light drizzle at dawn? The whole day gets the raincloud. A short spell of showers overnight? Still gets the umbrella of doom. It doesn't matter if the rest of the day is glorious, to the casual user, that icon says one thing: "don't risk it." And in the world of tourism, that perception matters.
The economic cost of a symbol
Tourism is a colossal contributor to the UK economy, generating £286BN in 2024, according to WTTC's 2025 Economic Impact Research (EIR) . Domestic day visits alone were worth over £50 billion, driven by spontaneous decisions, families looking for something to do, couples planning a last-minute getaway, locals weighing up whether to go to the coast or stay on the sofa. These are decisions made quickly, often based on a single glance at a weather app.
Research by The Weather Company found that 72% of UK consumers check the weather daily, and 65% say weather affects their mood, behaviour, and purchasing decisions. In tourism, those decisions aren't minor, they're often the difference between a sell-out weekend or a complete washout, regardless of whether a single raindrop hits the ground.
Anecdotally, we've heard from clients who've seen 20 to 30% drops in attendance after a negative forecast, despite dry conditions on the day.
One major coastal attraction reported losing out on £18,000 in expected revenue across a single weekend due to a misinterpreted forecast. Multiply that across a sector of seasonal, weather-sensitive operators, and you've got a recurring loss that no AI-powered chatbot can explain away.
When simplicity misleads
Now, many weather apps do offer detailed data: hourly breakdowns, live radar, wind speed charts, dew point graphs, you name it. But most people don't look at that. They glance at the symbol. Maybe the "feels like" temperature. Then they decide.
UX designers know this, in fact, it's why the icon exists. The problem is, we're expecting a single glyph to represent the complexity of British weather. And that's a tall order. In a country where you can experience four seasons in a single dog walk, using one visual cue for the whole day is not just unhelpful, it's actively damaging.
Let's take an upcoming Saturday as an example. According to Accuweather (which is one of the more detailed apps), the forecast says: "Brief morning showers; otherwise, decreasing cloud." But what's the icon? A raincloud. No sun peeking out. No suggestion of change. Just a monochrome no-go. And Accuweather is one of the better ones. On most apps, you get no context at all, just the dreaded cloud, quietly nudging people to cancel, postpone, or just not bother.
A design problem with real-world consequences
This isn't just about British weather moaning. It's about user experience design intersecting with public behaviour and having real consequences for real people.
Tourism, events, and hospitality businesses don't have the luxury of "wait and see." They roster staff, prepare food, set up outdoor seating, invest in marketing, and forecast income based on demand. And when that demand drops because of a poorly communicated weather forecast, the fallout is real:
- Wasted stock.
- Underused staff.
- Lost revenue.
- Fewer donations (for heritage, conservation and community orgs).
- Knock-on effects to local economies.
It's not hyperbole to say that weather app design is impacting economic stability for hundreds of small and medium-sized tourism businesses.
What needs to change?
First, let's be fair: not all apps are the same. Some do offer more nuanced views. TWO, for example, bases its icon on the most frequently occurring condition in the 24-hour period, which is an improvement, but still not ideal. Some apps let you switch data sources, compare models, and view wider regional patterns.
But these features are buried. If 90% of users are only seeing the top line , and that top line is misleading, then we have a communications issue, not a data issue.
Here's what we could do:
- Split the icon into day/night conditions. If it only rains at 3am, don't put a cloud on the whole day.
- Add textual summaries to the overview: "Showers early, bright later."
- Use a percentage bar to show the proportion of the day expected to be dry.
- Introduce better UX defaults that encourage deeper engagement, without overwhelming.
And maybe, just maybe, it's time for a tourism-specific weather app. We've already seen niche forecasting tools emerge for sailing, fishing, and skiing. Why not attractions, events, and outdoor leisure? With so many open weather APIs available, this is no longer a tech barrier, it's a market waiting to be served.
To the weather industry: it's time
I'm not here to shout at the clouds. But I am asking those responsible for how weather is visualised, app developers, designers, UX teams, and commercial platforms to take this seriously. Because what seems like a small issue of icon design is costing real businesses real money.
It's time weather apps stopped prioritising neatness over nuance. It's time we stopped treating a single drop of midnight rain as a reason to cancel a Saturday. It's time for the people designing our daily weather experience to think beyond convenience and toward consequence.
Tourism isn't asking for perfect predictions. Just honest, clear communication about what people can actually expect. And if the apps won't change? Well, tourism is an industry built on resilience and reinvention. If we have to build our own solution, we will. But I'd rather not have to explain to yet another struggling attraction that the reason their weekend bombed is because a cloud symbol misfired while they were asleep.
So here's the message: Weather apps do better. Or get out of the way.
We’re building a picture of this real world impact. If you work in tourism and have an opinion or data about how weather apps are impacting your business, then email it over to me by clicking here.
Let's talk
Looking for more information? Reach out to our team to talk about how we can help. Fill out the form below, to start a conversation.