Leisure activities are helping boost British holiday breaks, according to new research released at the Abta Travel Convention in Greece.
Trips including visitor attractions alone represent £3.1 billion of tourist spend while attending sporting events contributes £2.6 billion and live music events and festivals £2 billion.
The figures were revealed for the first time by VisitEngland in conjunction with VisitScotland and Visit Wales.
The popularity of golf in Scotland delivered almost £90 million from domestic trips while cycle and mountain biking brings in £54 million in spend to Wales.
Latest figures show a 14% year on year rise in the number of trips taken in England in the first six months of the year to 47 million. The level of overnight stays was up by 15% and spend by 14% as hotels outperformed other types of accommodation in the period.
VisitEngland reported that three in five attractions and accommodation businesses think that this year will be an improvement on 2014 with confidence high for the autumn.
However, outdoor attractions did not see the same level of growth as their indoor counterparts, “perhaps due to the variable weather so far this year,” the domestic tourist board said.
Commenting on the research results, VisitEngland chief executive Jame Berresford said it confirmed the “huge contribution” leisure activities make to the economy.
“Trips motivated by activities such as walking and cycling generate a massive associated spend as people are willing to travel around the country to take part in them and that is something businesses can tap into to drive growth by offering new and exciting experiences.”