DISMAL weather, high fuel prices and the credit crunch may have hit the region's tourist industry hard but it seems some businesses are bucking the trend.

South West Tourism last week said the continued bad weather and soaring cost of living "conspire against the tourism industry" which led to the visitor spend in the region being down £200 million.

However, in some cases attractions and accommodation have experienced record figures for what has proved to be yet another washout summer season.

Rick Turner, owner of the Big Sheep attraction at Bideford, said: "August was up 21 per cent on the same time last year. When you consider August accounts for 30 per cent of our annual turnover, you can understand why we're very happy.

"Annually we are also up by 8 per cent. There has been a lot of good marketing and having big indoor areas have helped during the wet weather."

He said there was a "significant amount of money being invested in new attractions".

There is no denying the fact that the large proportion of the regional dip in the tourism income has been in the secondary spend. While cafes and restaurants have continued to make sales, visitor attractions' shops have seen a drop in sales, much the same as high streets.

It is suggested the worldwide credit crunch has led to people staying in Britain for their holidays. But people are still taking holidays, as for many it is seen as a necessity. And this has been reflected by the experiences of the company that books out cottages, Helpful Holidays, which has seen yet another bumper year.

The South West-based company is launching its biggest ever programme for 2009 with nearly 600 properties in its brochure and more than 600 properties at www.helpfulholidays.com

General manager Moray Bowater said: "Despite claims otherwise by organisations such as South West Tourism, 2008 will be our best year ever. Booking levels have been excellent, helped by a growing realisation England has some of the most beautiful landscape in the world."

South West Tourism chief executive Malcolm Bell said he believed good marketing and planning were key to maintaining the region's tourism industry.

He said: "Businesses need to ensure they maintain the quality of the service. If you are a quality venue, you cannot be seen to be cutting corners.

"We need to ensure people are booking early so they are getting the best choice possible and best value." He said accommodation firms would benefit by varying the packages they offer, such as three and four day bookings.

This, Mr Bell said, would help those who could not afford a full week. The secondary spend would remain the challenge, he said.

Ensuring value for money is the key theme at Newquay's Blue Reef Aquarium. Manager David Waines said: "From a very standard start to the year, we had a very good summer with visitor figures far exceeding what we had expected. This is partly due to the wet weather, but also because of the new shark lagoon."

He said plans for next year were "under wraps", but that they tried to develop the various aspects of the aquarium to ensure returning visitors got a new experience.

While the Milky Way at Clovelly in North Devon saw figures 50 per cent up for April and May, there was a drop in June and July.

Business partner Trevor Stanbury said: "It's becoming obvious people are watching what they spend. While the cafe has been seeing the same level of business as last year, the shop spend has been down 30 per cent per person which equates to what is being experienced on the high street."

The wet weather did mean a lot of holidays were cut short, especially among those camping and caravanning. But at Topsham's Cartwheel Farm Tourism, which sells rural holidays, there has been a shift in business.

Chief executive Gina Woodcraft said: "What we witnessed was generally a very good year. There has been a drop in camping and caravaning because of the wet weather. But when it rained, a lot of people have booked into our bed and breakfast accommodation."