Business boss praises market town's tourism trend

Bury St Edmunds' history and culture continues to be a draw, a business chief has said, as tourists brought an extra £4.6m to the local area over two years.

Latest research commissioned by West Suffolk Council showed the value of the town's tourism economy reach a record-breaking high of £55.9m in 2024.

The number of people staying overnight has gone up, along with the amount of money that overnight tourists and day-trippers are spending, figured showed.

Mark Cordell, chief executive of Our Bury St Edmunds BID (Business Improvement District), said: "We have the history, the culture, the lovely abbey gardens, so many different reasons to come here."

The historic Suffolk town is home to St Edmundsbury Cathedral and a former abbey, Greene King and other brewers, and its High Street has been a draw not just to shoppers but also as a film location and as host for the Tour of Britain cycle race in recent years.

Cordell said he was "delighted" with the independent report that showed "the value of tourism in Bury St Edmunds to the local economy has grown from £51.3m to £55.9m in just two years, and by £8.7m since we launched the [Bury St Edmunds and Beyond] 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," he said.

"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.

"Businesses have got their regular repeat customers but what they do need is these additional people - people who have decided to come to Bury St Edmunds with a mindset to spend money."

Cordell said part of the work the BID group had been doing involved promoting the town as a destination for people living a three-hour car journey away, and internationally.

Key highlights from the report, carried out by Destination Research, showed that between 2022 and 2024:

• The number of staying trips rose from 63,000 to 71,000
• Staying nights rose from 226,000 to 286,000
• Total staying spend was £15.3m in 2024 - a rise from £12.9m two years before
• Total day trip spend went up from £25.4m to £26.1m
• Total trip spend rose from £39.5m to £42.9m

Tom Slegg, manager of The Angel Hotel, said he was "not surprised" at the figures.

"We've seen so many people coming through the doors recently when it comes to stays, and when it comes to food and beverage. The town just seems like it's buzzing," he said.

"It is well documented at the moment that it's a pretty rough time for hospitality in general - we consider ourselves very, very, lucky to be in such a vibrant town that is doing so well."

He said one of the draws was the "unique" amount of small independent businesses within the centre.

"Looking at the last couple of years and how it's grown, and the feeling we've got about the town and the amount of people coming in the doors, it is only going one way and it's brilliant."

John Saunders, marketing officer for Bury St Edmunds Tour Guides, added that when people visited they were "in awe" at what the town had to offer.

He said last year they toured people from 20 different countries, and daily tours brought in 1,500 people a year.

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