Tourism and the visitor economy are one of our key sectors in West Suffolk, supporting around 11,000 jobs.

The latest figures from Destination Research find that the value of tourism to the local economy in West Suffolk currently stands at £5.5 million (2019), an increase of 4 per cent compared with 2018.

Click the image below to view the video from Bury St Edmunds and Beyond which captures why West Suffolk is such a tourist hot spot.

Figures from 2019 show that there were 11.3 million visitor day trips to the West Suffolk area. With an average expenditure per day of £32.98, an increase of 6 per cent when compared to 2018.

Visitors to West Suffolk can enjoy our beautiful towns and villages, as well as our Green Flag award winning parks, which includes the Abbey Gardens, recently rated by Visit England as the fifth top free attraction to visit in the country. We are home to charming country and forest parks in Brandon, Clare and Thetford, the historic Ickworth House near Bury St Edmunds, and the ‘Home of Horseracing’ in Newmarket sees hundreds of thousands of visitors here each year, as well as to our diverse and beautiful mix of hotels, spas and bed and breakfasts. There’s even a Centre Parcs at Elveden – West Suffolk really does have something for all the family.

People often come for our top shopping, cultural and cuisine offer in West Suffolk which has been made famous on TV and the big screen.

In partnership with our local and regional tourism organisations such as Bury St Edmunds and Beyond as well as Discover Newmarket, we continue to promote and market the area to encourage more visitors to visit West Suffolk and increase their length of stay to further increase the value of tourism to the local economy.