Britons are being encouraged to holiday at home as a major tourism drive offering Olympic themed discounts is launched next week.

A new campaign offering 20.12 percent slashed off bills at participating venues will be unveiled by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt on Wednesday to boost 'staycations'.

The scheme includes hotel accommodation, meals, guided tours and entry to attractions, with discounts funded by the industry.

Government officials said more than three million hotel rooms were already lined up under the project, which is being backed by a range of companies, including Butlins.

Attractions, such as the London Eye and Alton Towers, are also taking part.

Reduced prices will also be offered on stays on the Royal yacht Britannia, now moored in Leith, Edinburgh, and visits to Chatsworth, the historic house in Derbyshire.

Tourists will be able to take advantage of the discount by using a dedicated website before the end of the Paralympics on September 9 to make bookings for this year and 2013.

Mr Hunt said: 'With the Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 Olympic Games, this year is the perfect opportunity for more of us to holiday in the UK.'

Mr Hunt has travelled the UK, urging companies to take part in the scheme, telling them: 'It's now or never for London tourism.

'We will never have a year like 2012 to show the world that this is, quite simply, the most exciting, vibrant, cosmopolitan city on the planet.

'The inevitable moans and groans in the run up to an Olympics must not cloud the scale of the opportunity - including our biggest ever tourism marketing campaign to make sure we get a lasting benefit from being in the global spotlight.'

The scheme will be promoted by a ￡3 million television advertising campaign – the first of its kind in the UK.

The government hopes the 'holidays at home are great' campaign – launched by VisitEngland – will create 12,000 jobs, create 5.3million extra short overnight breaks, and generate ￡480million in extra spending over three years.

(Read by Emily Cheng. Emily Cheng is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)

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(Agencies)