BUSINESSES have 'done their very best' in a year unlike any other – and visitors coming to enjoy the end of summer bank holiday have given the hospitality industry a last minute boost.

Businesses in Weymouth, many of which were unable to reopen until July 4, have hailed the summer season as a success despite missing out on key months of trading.

A last minute influx of holidaymakers flocking to the coast to enjoy the bank holiday weekend has brought the main summer season to a strong close.

Weymouth Beach and harbourside were busy despite the changeable weather.

Owner of the Alexandra Hotel in Weymouth, Steve Dorman, said: "We were pretty much full for the bank holiday which is fantastic. I think a lot of people want a change of scenery and are desperate for a break so they are coming to Dorset because it is a fantastic location with so much to offer.

"The business has definitely taken a massive hit as we were closed for three months but August has been on a par with previous years so it is encouraging to see how well we performed. It will be interesting to see if September will be the same but we have a similar number of bookings to last year."

"Back in May if you had offered me the chance to have a fully booked August and lots of bookings for September I would have bitten your hand off."

Jamie Quinn, co-owner of The Anchorage guesthouse on the Esplanade, has had a very successful summer season.

He said: "Our feet haven't touched the ground. We have been fully booked all August. A few months ago everyone was worried and expecting the worst and then all of a sudden the floodgates opened and we've been packed.

"September and October are pretty much booked up and some of our rooms are already fully booked for August next year.

"This has been an absolutely brilliant season for us."

Adam Foster, owner of Seabeats seafood restaurant, said: "It’s been a really good summer for us, we’ve been really busy since reopening.

"We actually did alright during lockdown as we turned the restaurant in to a vegetable shop, that kept us going until June when we were able to reopen again. It also gave us time to renovate the restaurant and put a bit more outside seating in to reduce the capacity.

"Overall, since June, we’ve done just as well as any other summer."

Assistant manager at The Gloucester pub, Liam Kenny, said: "We’ve done brilliantly this summer. We were worried coming out of lockdown but we’ve actually been busier than last year.

"We’ve benefited from tourists coming down to Weymouth on their UK holidays. So many of our guests have been saying ‘we supposed be in Spain or Italy at the moment’.

"We couldn’t have asked for much more really."

Il Caprese, a Mediterranean-style restaurant, opened just weeks before the country went into lockdown.

Owner, David Lodge, said: "I think it’s been pretty good, especially for a new business opening in this environment.

"Obviously the summer will be over soon and we’re not sure what to expect going forward."

Rhys Hardwick, general manager at The Nook bar, said: "It has been a challenge trying to adapt coming out of the lockdown but the customers have been great. We’ve had a lot of holidaymakers and they’ve all been very respectful of the new measures.

"We’ve been busy most days since reopening, I’ve noticed we’ve been a lot busier during the week than in previous years."

Despite a successful season, worries remain about the future of Weymouth businesses. School will soon start to reopen and the demographic of visitors coming to the town will change from families to older people, many of whom may choose not to travel for health reasons.

Craig Oakes, president of Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce, said: "This has been a really tough year. People and businesses have done their very best and I think they have done really well.

"The bank holiday has been busy end to a strange season and I think businesses are tired now.

"A we come out of summer and take the rose tinted spectacles off we are going to see a big change. The furlough scheme being pulled and moving into winter could have a massive impact on how businesses operate over the next few months.

"Up until the end of summer, bearing in mind what has happened, we have done really well in this area and I applaud everyone who is keeping our economy running.

"We have got to hold onto the fact that in this community we do look after each other and when we have a crisis we deal with it together."