The UK Tourism Survey figures, released by VisitEngland, show the number of trips taken by domestic travellers in the UK in the first six months of 2010 remain unchanged compared to 2009.

Although overall the number of domestic overnight trips was unchanged there was a shift in the purposes of the trips - the number of pure holiday trips fell by 3 per cent between January and June, while the number of visiting friends & relatives trips (VFR) rose by 2 per cent.

During the month of June visitor figures increased by 5 per cent compared to June 2009 perhaps influenced by the later half-term holiday than the previous year.

James Berresford, chief executive VisitEngland commented: "Last year was the best ever year for leisure tourism with domestic holiday trips up by 18 per cent in England and 17 per cent in the UK.

Despite a slight downturn in holiday tourism this year compared to 2009, England and the UK are still experiencing double digit growth compared to 2008. The industry should be proud of sustaining strong and consistent figures especially in view of a World Cup and ongoing economic uncertainty."

The figures show that there were 125.97 million overnight trips taken in the UK during the past 12 months, 7.8 million more than in the 12 months from July 2008 to June 2009 - representing an increase of 7 per cent.