New research has found that more Scottish residents opted to holiday at home in 2010, with staycationers' visitor expenditure worth £1bn to the country's economy.

Scottish tourism minister Fergus Ewing has called on businesses and operators to capitalise on the trend, with the number of overnight trips by Scottish residents up 9 per cent on 2009. The figures were released in the 2010 United Kingdom Tourism Survey, which saw expenditure by overseas residents increase in 2010 - despite a drop in visitor numbers.

Ewing said: "The trend of staycations contributed £1bn to Scotland's economy last year, providing a significant boost to our tourism industry during the global economic downturn. "Together with VisitScotland, this government works hard to ensure Scotland is promoted across the world in key and emerging markets."

VisitScotland chief executive Malcolm Roughead added: "The domestic figures show that staycations are here to stay. They are no longer a trend, but a habit."