Plans to scrap the May Day bank holiday in favour of either a St George's Day in April or Trafalgar Day in October have been outlined by the government.
Ministers argue the former strategy would start the tourist season earlier, while the latter would elongate it.
The Trades Union Congress rejected a May Day change, saying firms have built schedules around established holidays.
Meanwhile, widely discussed plans to bring UK clocks into line with Europe's were not included in the strategy.
Tourism Minister John Penrose said it had been "in, then out" twice from the final published document.
The idea behind "double summer time" is to move clocks forward by an hour from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in the winter and a further hour in the summer, to match Central European Time, which would mean lighter nights but darker mornings.
London Olympics
But people in Scotland have opposed the move, saying some of the northern-most areas would not see daylight until 1000 GMT during winter - increasing accidents.
The government's policy paper includes plans to move the May Day holiday to St George's Day on 23 April - to create a "national day".
A move to October could be either a "UK day" or a national day to mark military victories such as the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
Mr Penrose said he wanted to encourage more Britons to holiday at home and at the same time to get more foreign residents to visit the UK.
"As a nation we are a little bit prone to underplay what we have on our doorstep," he said.
He said the strategy also aimed to exploit the economic opportunities presented by next year's Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics.
It is hoped an extra four million people will visit Britain over the next four years, spending an extra £2bn and creating 50,000 jobs.
Consultation will now begin on any possible changes to the UK's tourism strategy, but no change is expected until 2013.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "There is strong support for an extra public holiday as the UK has the stingiest allocation in Europe.
"But messing around with established bank holidays will disrupt people's schedules and create more red tape for employers."
He argued moving the May Day holiday forward was not about bringing forward the tourist season, which he said started around Easter anyway.
Instead, he said, it was "all about satisfying Tory backwoodsmen who have a bee in their bonnet because of May Day's association with international labour day".
May Day was a traditional British celebration dating back to the 4th Century, he added.
BBC News - May Day bank holiday plans unveiled
Ministers argue the former strategy would start the tourist season earlier, while the latter would elongate it.
The Trades Union Congress rejected a May Day change, saying firms have built schedules around established holidays.
Meanwhile, widely discussed plans to bring UK clocks into line with Europe's were not included in the strategy.
Tourism Minister John Penrose said it had been "in, then out" twice from the final published document.
The idea behind "double summer time" is to move clocks forward by an hour from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in the winter and a further hour in the summer, to match Central European Time, which would mean lighter nights but darker mornings.
London Olympics
But people in Scotland have opposed the move, saying some of the northern-most areas would not see daylight until 1000 GMT during winter - increasing accidents.
The government's policy paper includes plans to move the May Day holiday to St George's Day on 23 April - to create a "national day".
A move to October could be either a "UK day" or a national day to mark military victories such as the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
Mr Penrose said he wanted to encourage more Britons to holiday at home and at the same time to get more foreign residents to visit the UK.
"As a nation we are a little bit prone to underplay what we have on our doorstep," he said.
He said the strategy also aimed to exploit the economic opportunities presented by next year's Diamond Jubilee and the London Olympics.
It is hoped an extra four million people will visit Britain over the next four years, spending an extra £2bn and creating 50,000 jobs.
Consultation will now begin on any possible changes to the UK's tourism strategy, but no change is expected until 2013.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "There is strong support for an extra public holiday as the UK has the stingiest allocation in Europe.
"But messing around with established bank holidays will disrupt people's schedules and create more red tape for employers."
He argued moving the May Day holiday forward was not about bringing forward the tourist season, which he said started around Easter anyway.
Instead, he said, it was "all about satisfying Tory backwoodsmen who have a bee in their bonnet because of May Day's association with international labour day".
May Day was a traditional British celebration dating back to the 4th Century, he added.
BBC News - May Day bank holiday plans unveiled
