The number of overnight trips made to north Norfolk in 2017 rose by more than 12pc year on year, compared to just three per cent in England.

The latest annual tourism figures demonstrate its crucial importance to the region with a £10m boost to the economy year on year.

The Economic Impact of Tourism report for 2017, published this week, revealed the total number of trips to north Norfolk was 8,827,700.

Of these, 8,207,000 were day trips, which was up 5.8pc from a 2016 total of 7,755,000.

Meanwhile, 620,700 were overnight trips, up 12.1pc from a 2016 total of 553,500.

The total value of tourism to north Norfolk was £505m, up three per cent from a 2016 total of £495m.

The figures have been welcomed by Nigel Dixon, North Norfolk District Council's (NNDC) cabinet member for economic development, business and tourism, who said: 'It's really pleasing to see such a strong set of tourist sector activity indicators, especially the rise in overnight stays, it follows a very positive year on year trend.

'It shows that NNDC, working in partnership with Visit North Norfolk and others, and investing in maintaining, improving and expanding tourist facilities, is paying dividends in supporting a key economic sector for north Norfolk.'

There were 11,352 actual tourism jobs or 8,184 full-time equivalent jobs in 2017, an increase of three per cent on 2016.

On top of this, there have been anecdotal reports of bumper figures during 2018 to date, as a reflection of the long hot summer.

Kayla Dunne, brand manager at Visit North Norfolk, said: 'The fact that the increase in overnight trips is four times the growth compared to England as a whole reflects North Norfolk's unique visitor offering such as Blue Flag beaches, nature and a wide choice of places to stay and things to do.

'The trend of holidaying at home, enjoyment of natural beauty as well as authentic experiences, has increasingly attracted people to North Norfolk all year-round. Our latest marketing campaign, North Norfolk, Naturally, aims to extend the main visitor season while providing a 'shop front' for visitors to plan their stay in North Norfolk.'