Tourist hotspots in the Bradford district are celebrating – because of the recession.

The summer trend to holiday near home to save on costs is continuing through the Christmas period, tourist bosses report.

Welcome to Yorkshire, the official tourism agency for Yorkshire, is predicting a boom after the county outperformed the rest of the UK in 2009 by attracting a record number of holidaymakers.

A spokesman for Bradford Council’s tourist information service said the area had seen a ten per cent increase in visitors.

Haworth saw the largest visitor figures in the district reflected in about a three per cent rise in visits to the Bronte Parsonage Museum.

And Skipton Tourist Information Centre is expecting to release improved figures in the New Year. A Craven Council spokesman said: “The Craven area does seem to be busy with visitors this Christmas especially in self-catering accommodation.”

Research shows more than a third of Yorkshire hotels have taken more bookings than this time last year. One in five hotels and guesthouses are fully booked for Christmas and a quarter are booked up over New Year.

Gary Verity, chief executive at Welcome to Yorkshire, said: “The research shows Yorkshire is proving to be a top holidaying destination and competing successfully against other regions around the UK. In these tough economic times it’s fantastic that the tourism industry in Britain, especially the Yorkshire region, is doing so well and we look forward to the predicted best-ever winter season.”

Yorkshire experienced a 27 per cent increase in UK holidaymakers up to September, well above the national increase of 18 per cent.