It’s good to take a holiday at home, and UK cities are the top choice, says Jeremy Gates

BRITAIN’S cities are taking over from the seaside as staycation breaks have driven a 12.6 per cent surge in UK tourism revenue since 2007, according to a survey .

Budget hotel chain Travelodge reports that stay-at-home Britons on short breaks helped to push tourism revenue to £40bn between 2007 and 2011, despite a two million drop in the number of overseas visitors during that period.

With seaside destinations in decline, UK city breaks now account for 23 per cent of domestic tourism. And despite the longest double-dip recession since the Second World War, Travelodge says tourism remains one of the fastest growing industries in the UK.

The industry’s job numbers grew by 2,000 between 2007 and 2011, from 2.690 million to 2.692 million, while manufacturing fell by 17 per cent, construction by 15 per cent, finance by seven per cent and transport and storage by six per cent. The report says strong growth in tourism last year created 120,000 jobs.

Staycations form the backbone of the tourism economy, with domestic trips and holidays increasing by 5.6 per cent to 126.6 million, and city breaks accounting for almost a quarter (23 per cent) of all domestic breaks.

Liverpool is the stand-out destination. The 2008 European Capital of Culture enjoyed a 23 per cent increase in visitors and a 91 per cent increase in holidaymakers, while most UK cities saw an average visitor increase of 2.6 per cent and London delivered four per cent.

The seaside continues to struggle, however.

Bournemouth, Great Yarmouth, Blackpool, Torquay and Newquay experienced a slump in visitors, with an average decline of five per cent between them.

The report also claims the recession has stopped many Britons from going abroad: the number of trips overseas has declined by 12.6 million, from 69.4 million to 56.8 million.

Travelodge chief Grant Hearn, says: “Our report shows UK tourism has weathered the recession and outperformed other key sectors. As one of Britain’s biggest business sectors, it has a real opportunity to play a significant part in helping our economy to recover.”