Record Breaking Tourism Year for Bury St Edmunds

Latest figures from the town’s tourism brand Bury St Edmunds and Beyond, show the value of the town’s tourism economy rose in 2017 to a new high of £49.9million, up 5.8% on 2016, while the number of trips to the town, known as a jewel in the crown of Suffolk, grew by 11.4% to 829,000.

The number of staying trips increased by 7.4% to 73,000.

There were also 756,000 day trips in 2017, an increase of 11.8%, while the total visitor spend was up by 6% to £38,392,000.

Sue Warren, Brand and Marketing Manager for Bury St Edmunds and Beyond, said the growing interest in visiting Bury St Edmunds is also reflected in the brand’s own marketing figures.

Since it launched in September last year, Bury St Edmunds and Beyond has seen a rise of 53% in the number of visitors to the official tourism website from 139,737 to 214,060 from increased engagement in social media, and greater brand awareness thanks to a digital marketing strategy and campaigns.

Around 60 tourism businesses are now members of Bury St Edmunds and Beyond and membership is growing.

On Thursday (Oct 11) from 5pm to 7pm the organisation will hold a tourism fair at the town’s Athenaeum where tourism professionals can network and local residents can rediscover all the fantastic attractions on their doorstep.

She said: “Tourism in Bury St Edmunds is growing. You only have to see the increased number of visitors to the official tourism website coupled with the latest visitor statistics to see that this is such a growth area. Accommodation providers in the area are responding to demand by increasing bed capacity, investing in refurbishing their properties and building new properties to accommodate visitors.

“It proves that our funding partners who had the foresight to set up Bury St Edmunds and Beyond as the official marketing organisation for the town and surrounding area were right to invest in the future as this is a growing industry vital to our local economy. Not only do visitors bring business to the town and beyond but tourism is also responsible for over 1,000 jobs here.

“We have had a fantastic first year since launch but marketing is of course a long term investment and we continue to work hard to promote Bury St Edmunds and Beyond to prospective visitors and to support our tourism businesses.”