An early Easter, extended school holidays and the centenary celebrations all contributed to a strong rise in spending on tourism and recreation in March, according to a new survey.

However, overall consumer spending growth halved to an annual 5.6 per cent in March from 11.3 per cent in February, the Visa Europe consumer spending index reports.

The February figures were slightly distorted by the extra day in this leap year, the survey compilers said.

The rate of growth in spending online continues to outpace the high street by more than two to one. Ecommerce sales were up 9.5 per cent year on year in March, compared to a 3.8 per cent rise for traditional stores.

Philip Konopik of Visa said: "Our latest data shows that whilst we experienced a slowdown in spending growth, we enter the second quarter of 2016 on a strong upward growth pattern."