... but the fall in sterling helps tourism take off

THE slump in the pound may have pushed up the price of foreign holidays for Britons this summer.

But it is likely to boost the UK tourist industry as some families opt for ‘staycations’ and visitors flood in from overseas.

Figures from travel industry experts Forward Keys show summer flight bookings to the UK from China are up 21pc on last year, Indian bookings are up 20pc and Japanese 10pc.

Patricia Yates, director at Visit Britain, said: ‘If you think that China is the world’s biggest outbound market, it’s where we can see global growth, so it’s really good that British tourism – a very well established industry – is capturing its share of that new growth market.

‘Our traditional markets are Europe, where we’re seeing demand a bit softer, and America, where we’re actually seeing really good growth this year, but being able to capture growth markets is key to the future success of tourism.’

Noting the growth in Chinese and American visitors, she added: ‘We know they are our highest spending market. So we would anticipate a good year.’

Diane Howarth, who runs Cottage in the Dales, a self-catering holiday letting business in Yorkshire, said Britons choosing to holiday at home had boosted her firm.

Her three cottages are already 87pc full for this year, 33pc booked for 2020 and 10pc for 2021.

She said: ‘It’s been a record year for us. It’s never happened, being booked two years in advance. With the Brexit uncertainty, it’s already helped the UK staycation market.’