For more than 30 years cheap foreign holidays have led young people and families to desert traditional resorts such as Scarborough and Bridlington where staying visitors have been replaced by day trippers.

Recent economic gloom has also left the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors facing a 20 per cent downturn, with petrol costs hitting touring holidays.

But resorts such as Scarborough and Bridlington look likely to share in the renaissance of the British seaside holiday which is forecast to lead to 34 million Britons holidaying on their own shores.

Alan Studholme, of Bridlington Hotel and Guest House Association, said: "The season has suddenly burst into life. We usually get a lot of pensioners in May but had very few bookings. So it looked as though they decided to stay at home because they were feeling the squeeze.

"But we are now getting a lot of requests for family rooms – far more than usual. The town is not geared up for a young invasion at the moment but we are getting there with developments such as the marina. The days of the grannies coming here to play bingo are well gone."

The Yorkshire Coast always had a strong tradition of attracting young people from all over Yorkshire, as well as Scotland and the North East, until cheap package holidays in the late 1970s cornered the youth market fed-up with high UK prices.

However, Scarborough Hospitality Association, the former hotel association, which has more than 150 members, said there were signs that the economic downturn had led to a reversal of the trend, as well as more interest in three-day breaks taken more frequently.

Executive committee member Eddie Blakeley said: "We are getting a lot of local people not wanting to spend a lot of money on petrol who are coming to the nearest resort, just as they used to do. There is a great tradition for holidaying here from West and South Yorkshire.

"So maybe we are seeing young people returning to their roots and thinking: 'Why don't we try Scarborough like mum and dad?'"

Hornsea Freeport said staff had also noticed more young people coming through and were laying on more children's entertainment. Centre manager Simon Tudor said: "We have seen a six per cent increase in footfall over the last month which is bucking the current market in retail."

Scarborough's cabinet member for tourism, David Jeffels, who chaired the British Resorts Association for three years and is a member of the Yorkshire Tourist Board, said: "The strength of the euro is probably putting people off abroad where it is also getting too hot for them to enjoy their holidays.

"The spell of weather we are having now is hopefully going to provide a huge turnaround in our fortunes. People are going to get good value for money on the coast and it is much cheaper to come to Scarborough than going abroad – and without all the airport security hassle."

Reports he had seen indicated Scarborough, Filey and Whitby and other parts of the Yorkshire coast were probably having one of the best seasons of any resort in the country.

"We are getting reports of quite significant increases in business, whereas in other areas it has been as much as 20 per cent down. People are far from snubbing British resorts, and the credit crunch, strength of the euro and good weather are certainly all having an impact."

A recent survey by the internet holiday site LateRooms.com showed nearly six out of 10 holidaymakers (57 per cent) were shunning foreign resorts – half because of the cost – and planning a British seaside holiday, with Scarborough in the top six destinations.