Tourism in Bury St Edmunds Hits Record Value, New Figures Reveal

Tourism in Bury St Edmunds has seen another bumper year as the historic town grew the value of tourism to the local economy by £4.6million in two years, latest figures have revealed.

The latest 2024 tourism figures from independent research, carried out by Destination Research and commissioned annually by West Suffolk Council, show the value of the town’s tourism economy rose in 2024 to a new record-breaking high of £55.9million.

The number of staying trips, staying nights, total staying spend, total day trip spend, total trip spend are all up on 2022 figures - meeting Our Bury St Edmunds BID’s key aims to drive more visitors, overnight stays and greater visitor spend through marketing via its Bury St Edmunds and Beyond tourism brand.

Key highlights:
•    The number of staying trips has risen from 63,000 to 71,000
•    Staying nights have risen from 226,000 to 286,000
•    Total staying spend is now £15.3 million, a rise from £12.9 million in 2022
•    Total day trip spend has risen from £25.4 million to £26.1 million
•    Total trip spend has risen from £39.5 million to £42.9 million

The value of tourism to the local economy has risen by £8.7million since the Bury St Edmunds and Beyond brand launched in 2017.

Our Bury St Edmunds BID recently won the Best Heritage Destination Guide 2025 for its Bury St Edmunds and Beyond tourism brand in the Best Getaways Awards. The awards recognise excellence across all areas of tourism – from boutique hotels and glamping sites to local tour operators, cultural gems, and destination marketing teams.

Mark Cordell, CEO of Our Bury St Edmunds BID, said: “We are delighted with the report published today which shows that the value of tourism in Bury St Edmunds to the local economy has grown from £51.3million to £55.9million in just two years and by £8.7million since we launched the tourism brand in 2017.

“The statistics show that stays are up and visitor spending is rising — fantastic news for our tourism businesses and the town centre. But we’re not slowing down; we’re building on this momentum with a digital marketing campaign running until the end of March to raise awareness of Bury St Edmunds as the foodie capital of Suffolk, a Christmas stays campaign launching in November, and a cycling breaks campaign debuting in spring.”

Bury St Edmunds and Beyond, founded in 2017, is the official tourism brand for Bury St Edmunds and the surrounding area and part of Our Bury St Edmunds Business Improvement District.

It promotes the town through marketing campaigns, fresh and engaging content, social media, PR and works closely with other nearby destinations to drive visitors to its website to showcase all that Bury St Edmunds and surrounding area has to offer. The marketing activity is funded by BID members, Bury St Edmunds Town Council, Gough Hotels and St Edmundsbury Cathedral.