LAST-MINUTE tourists have been flocking to the Bay, giving a welcome early season boost to the tourist trade.

And Torquay has been so popular national holiday chain Travelodge is reporting its 90-bed hotel is its third most popular coastal destination based on this week's reservations.

The hotel chain currently has 373 hotels across the UK, and the £3.6million Newton Road hotel opened last December.

Gerald Elmleitner, Torquay Travelodge manager, said: "During the last two weeks Travelodge Torquay has welcomed thousands of customers.

"The hotel has been booked up all of this week, mainly with walk-in customers who have taken a spontaneous trip to Torquay so they can enjoy the heatwave."

Mr Elmleitner added he expected the early peak to continue into July and August with people choosing to holiday in the UK.

Mayor Nick Bye said he hadn't seen the Bay so busy in June for 'years and years' and welcomed the fact Torquay was beating holiday competition from other resorts including Scarborough, Bournemouth, Southend-on-Sea, Margate and Great Yarmouth according to the Travelodge top 10 list of their seaside resort hotels.

"It is really good news, we know they want to build more hotels in the Bay and it has been a fantastic start to the tourist season this year, not just this week but going right back to the February half term," said Mr Bye.

"The visitor numbers are good but the surprising thing is people are spending money.

"I was worried visitors would come but wouldn't spend because of the hard times, but the attractions I have spoken to say people are spending more."

Only Brighton and Blackpool came ahead of Torquay in Travelodge's figures.

Mr Bye added the weak pound against the Euro meant there were more foreign visitors in the Bay and young students staying in language schools were spending money because they were getting value for money.

"This is a fantastic place and we are having some success and so people will come," he said.

"People have much higher expectations than 20 years ago. We have to meet those expectations and we can do that by getting investment into the area."

He said he believed the success of hotels like Travelodge were because 'high-spending visitors' want to know what is on offer.

"Unless we provide it they won't come, and people will come and spend money in the town because they don't do the full board package, so then the people staying in hotels like Travelodge will go out in the town and spend," he added.

"Much of our traditional accommodation provides more than that so there are opportunities for everybody."