THE economic downturn made thousands of people shun foreign holidays this summer and also hit tourists visiting Britain, figures show today.

The number of trips abroad by British residents in July, August and September was five per cent lower than in the same period last year, from 17.8 million to 17 million.

Travel tailed off steadily, month by month throughout the summer as holidaymakers chose to stay at home as the economy lurched towards recession.

Three per cent fewer tourists from overseas also visited the UK this summer than last, down from eight million to 7.8 million, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. That was driven by a 21 per cent drop in the number of visits made by North Americans over the same period, from 1.46 million to 1.15 million.

The impact of the slump in overseas visitors was felt on the high street and by hotels and restaurants as tourists pumped £270 million less into the British economy than they did this spring.

Spending fell six per cent on the three months to June from £4.25 billion to £3.98 billion.

●The recession could cost the UK tourism industry more than 100,000 jobs and shrink gross domestic product by £11billion, a report for Visit Britain said today.

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