More than one million more holidays were taken in England this year as Britons elect to take breaks closer to home.

According to new figures from VisitEngland’s United Kingdom Tourism Survey, trips taken in England by UK residents in the first four months of 2009 are up 13 per cent, equating to 1.2 million more holidays and more than 5 million extra nights’ holiday taken than in the same period of 2008.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics confirm that outbound travel is down 18 per cent in the same four months.

James Berresford, chief executive of VisitEngland, said: “Time will tell if the trend for holidaying at home continues throughout the summer, but these early indications that people are rediscovering holidays in England is welcome news to the leisure tourism sector.”

The report said that overall trips taken in England in the month of April have increased by 34 per cent, though the late Easter is thought to be a significant factor.

However, business travel for the four-month period fell 11 per cent.

Berresford said: “We know that businesses are still having a tough time and business travel is still a big concern, which we will continue to monitor.

“However, it seems for now that leisure travel is helping to keep the numbers at the same level as last year, which is encouraging given the differences in the economic climate in the two comparative years.”