Stay-at-home families are ditching the sunshine and sangria for a bucket and spade in Kent.

According to latest figures, holidaymakers are now beating the credit crunch by taking a "staycation", or holiday at home.

Visit Kent, the county's tourist board, says the majority of visitor information centres in the county are experiencing increased footfall.

And a large number of these, between 60 and 90 per cent, are homegrown visitors.

But Kent is rapidly becoming "le dernier mot" for French day trippers.

Apparently the French and Germans are popping over to take advantage of our weak pound.

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Sandra Matthews-Marsh, chief executive from Visit Kent, said: “It’s great news for Kent Tourism.

“There really is a marked difference between this year and last year and our statistics have really given us the evidence that domestic tourism is on the increase.

“The weather is on our side and also the domestic credit crunch that is affecting people’s holiday choices giving Kent an opportunity to holiday closer to home.”

She said the county was seeing a real shift in visitors from abroad, with holidaymakers seeing a trip to Blighty as a cost-effective alternative to the continent.

Major attractions in the county were also feeling the benefits of the staycation economy.

A total of 17 hotspots in the county predicted a better 2008 than last year, with three expecting a more than 10 per cent increase in business this year.