Even the British PM thinks Visit Britain’s staycation pitch is lame

With an eye on an Olympic bounce for the country’s ailing economy, David Cameron this week urged foreign business to invest in the UK, adding: ‘And if you want a holiday, then why not have your holiday here?’

That might well be a question British holiday resorts could best pose to this country’s political leaders. The Observer understands that after a period around the last general election in which politicians of all colours avoided foreign beaches in a bid to bolster their patriotic credentials, Cameron, Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg are all planning a foreign break after the London games in order to recharge their batteries.

Ed Miliband is shunning Cornwall and Devon, the choice for his first family summer breaks immediately before and after becoming Labour leader, to spend two weeks on a Greek island with his wife, Justine Thornton, and their two sons, Daniel and Samuel.

However, he will this year, no doubt, be more careful about being photographed carrying his holiday reading to the car. Last year much fun was had when pictures emerged of Miliband carrying a bundle of titles containing tips on how to be a successful leader, including one Entitled Leadership On The Line: Staying Alive Through The Dangers Of Leading.

The prime minister, his wife Samantha and their two young daughters and son are also heading for a European holiday, the location of which is yet to be disclosed.

A source said the Camerons would be taking two weeks off, the majority of which would be spent abroad with the extended family.

The Camerons tried for a fortnight in Tuscany last year but the London riots cut it short and they later opted for a politically safe break in Cornwall, a favourite for the family since their daughter was born there in Truro during a holiday in August 2010.

Meanwhile, Nick Clegg is sticking with a tried and trusted formula of a week in a villa his family owns in France followed by a week in the town in Spain where his wife’s family live.

Olmedo, a town in northern Spain with a population of just 4,000, is where lawyer Miriam González Durantez, was born and where the couple were married. They go there each summer along with their children Antonio, Alberto and Miguel. Clegg once said: “It’s a very friendly, small town totally off the tourist trail, with classic red-brick fortifications and turrets made straight from the hills of baked earth. In 15 years of going there, I haven’t seen a single English car drive through the town.”