When is summer going to arrive? That seems to be the question on everyone's lips at the moment. A bumper Easter, plus sweltering temperatures at the end of April and into May, has left many wondering whether global warming has had a hand in us experiencing our summer early. Locally, the weather over the past couple of weeks has been wet and miserable, with many school sports, fetes and other outdoor events unfortunately having to be postponed or even cancelled. Tenby's weather recorder Trish Putwain has confirmed that June was the wettest since 1998. "From June 11 to the end of the month, there was rain every day, with only one completely fine day," said Mrs. Putwain, who recorded 89.6mm of rain. But it was not all doom and gloom. "On the other hand, we did have 5.6 hours of sunshine per day in June," she added. Locally, the weather has had a mixed effect on the summer tourism trade. Matthew Evans, CEO of Coastal Cottages, said: "2007 started so strongly that every month this year has seen record levels of visitor bookings. June, however, is traditionally a tough month to sell, but this year we can report record booking levels for June. "The key to June is selling it early in the year; the same with November. The days of waiting to see who turns up or simply advertising in the local guide are sadly over, especially as the market is so aggressive in its marketing nowadays. "The sun must really be seen as a bonus. We are not the Bahamas and the UK is not a sun destination. This is why the quality end of the market has done so very well over the past five years. "Over 95 per cent of product being offered to us at Coastal Cottages is now four and five star standard. New guest houses and hotels are all striving for a minimum of four star, and Bluestone will certainly raise the bar in its own market. "If the product on the ground is right, such as accommodation, restaurants, activities, shopping and general welcome, which it is in Pembrokeshire, then it can compete with the very best, rain or shine, worldwide." Vice-president of Pembrokeshire Tourism, Chris Osborne, of Tenby's Fourcroft Hotel, said: "Trade has been suffering poor visitor levels over the last three weeks-plus. It seems to be a reflection of poor, very wet weather and higher interest rates, which just raised another quarter point last week. The arrival of summer is now being awaited with some concern." Jack Zeraschi, of the Fountains Cafe, South Beach, said: "It's difficult to say. We're finding it quiet, mainly down to the weather. People are not committing themselves to go on holiday while the weather is changeable." And, it was a similar story at Tenby Harbour, where boat trip operators said visitor numbers were down. "Easter was wonderful, June was mediocre, but July has been awful so far," said one. Meanwhile, it's not surprising that the area's all- weather attractions have been busy. At Folly Farm, Begelly, Chris Ebsworth said that the weather had had 'no real affect' on trade and, in fact, he reported a 12 per cent increase in business on the same period last year.