VisitBritain is launching a £6.5m campaign to capitalise on the weakened pound.

According to the tourist board, the current state of sterling could mean up to five million more domestic holidays and increased numbers of international visitors.

Consequently VisitBritain will launch and domestic and foreign campaign to highlight deals from the industry and free access to national museums and galleries.

Christopher Rodrigues, VisitBritain’s executive chair, said: “This is a time to talk about the importance of our industry – an industry supporting 2.7 million jobs, 200,000 SMEs [Small and Medium Enterprises] and worth £114bn.

“Despite current economic woes, tourism is one of the few industries that could show growth with a real opportunity to grow to a £133bn industry by 2018.”

The three-year strategy was informed by the British Tourism Framework Review, commissioned by the DCMS, which examined the infrastructure surrounding the visitor economy.

Photograph: VisitBritain chair Christopher Rodrigues/I>