In a ground-breaking new partnership, Suffolk Coastal council is joining with the Aldeburgh Cinema Trust to launch a new Visitor Information Service at the resort.

The district council closed the Tourist Information Centre last autumn, due to reduced demand, but gave a commitment to continue providing some form of a visitor information service in the town.

Now a self-help service area is to be created in the foyer of the cinema which will include an interactive terminal for the public to use to access key tourist information websites, with cinema staff and volunteers on hand to provide assistance, from April 1.

Sally Irvine, chair of the Aldeburgh Cinema Trust, said: “As a community cinema, we’re delighted to be integrating the Visitor Information Service alongside our film entertainment. We look forward to welcoming visitors to the new service.”

Geoff Holdcroft, deputy leader of Suffolk Coastal and cabinet member for economic development, with responsibility for tourism, said: “Suffolk Coastal is recognised for its innovative partnership work in finding new ways to provide services, while reducing costs and protecting the council tax payer.

“In Felixstowe and Woodbridge, we have created customer service centres within the local libraries, to provide visitor information and council services in the heart of the community. Now we have this exciting new partnership in Aldeburgh to provide tourist information from a successful, high profile central attraction.

“The cinema is an important part of the community and the public already come here to find out what’s going on in Aldeburgh.

“Our aim is to ensure visitors have access to information about Aldeburgh and the surrounding area in a convenient, accessible way, while also making sure we are providing best value to the tax payer.”

The change at Aldeburgh is part of a wider review of all tourism services throughout the District.

In recent years, the number of people using traditional tourist information services has steadily fallen, with a shift in behaviour away from people using traditional centres towards online information searches, accommodation booking, as well as a far greater use of social media.

Despite the growth in tourism locally, the number of people calling in at Aldeburgh Tourist Information Centre had dropped by more than half – from nearly 34,000 in 2009/10 to just over 15,000 in 2014/15. Similarly, the number of telephone enquiries had fallen from over 4,200 to just over 1,900 in the same period.