New research suggests that domestic tourism expenditure in the UK is set to increase by 25% by 2017.

Annual expenditure by domestic tourists is expected to surge to over £108billion in 2017 according to the research conducted by Barclays. The ‘staycation’ trend has strengthened across the country – mainly as a result of the economic downturn as people turn to more affordable holidays within the UK, rather than travel abroad.

“The economy is improving and confidence is certainly growing, and while this will lead to a gradual rise in the number of consumers looking to holiday abroad again, it is unlikely to precipitate a return to the holidaying habits we were seeing prior to the downturn,” explained Mike Saul, Head of Hospitality & Leisure at Barclays.

London, the South East and South West are to remain the top three domestic destinations according to the research.

“With domestic tourism set to be big business for the UK’s hospitality and retail sectors, those with a clearly targeted strategy are set to benefit. It is key that operators understand their customer base and crucially how to communicate with them via the channels their clients prefer to use, be it through social media, print advertising, television or radio. Online channels continue to present a huge opportunity to drive sales and the increasing popularity of search engines and review websites suggests that time and effort would be well spent monitoring and responding to any reviews of their business,” Mr Saul concluded.

The full survey is available here