The government has announced its latest strategy to boost tourism in the UK. The aim is to persuade more Brits to holiday at home and pull in more visitors from abroad by explaining that it doesn’t rain all the time and that there are things to do outside London. One part of the strategy is to create super-destinations away from the capital such as the Peak District, the Cotswolds and Cornwall.

John Penrose, minister for tourism, said there would also be discussions about the possibility of moving May Day’s bank holiday. It could either be pushed to October where it would be labelled Trafalgar Day or to St Georges Day.

Although the tourism industry has been calling for a change in moving the clocks to create lighter evenings in the summer, the government has decided against the proposal over fears that it could endanger children on their way to school by creating darker mornings and also increase the probability of road accidents.

The strategy also involves tackling misconceptions about how bad the British weather is. It points out that London does not get as much rain as Rome and that the capital gets less fog than San Francisco. There are also proposals for making passport queues shorter and less intimidating for foreign visitors and putting more foreign languages onto tourism signs.

The government is keen to capitalise on a number of upcoming events such as the Royal Wedding, the Queen’s jubilee and the 2012 summer Olympic Games to be held in London.