MORE than 40 tourism businesses from across Suffolk have attended an industry summit to discuss the need for collaboration in promoting the county as a destination.

Delegates at the event, held at the apex in Bury St Edmunds, heard about how the public and private sectors have come together under the identity of Visit East Anglia (VEA) and about initiatives to promote Suffolk in the run up to the Olympics and beyond.

Speakers at the event included Robert Gough, chairman of the Suffolk marketing panel for tourism, which is made up of five public sector and six private sector members, and Keith Brown, chief executive of VEA.

Mr Gough, of Gough Hotels, which includes the Angel Hotel in Bury St Edmunds and the Salthouse Harbour Hotel in Ipswich, gave his thoughts on best practice for the industry and Mr Brown spoke on the importance of collaboration between the private and public sectors.

Amand Bond, Suffolk brand manager at VEA, said: “This event is a good example of the private and public sector coming together to support the wider promotion of Suffolk and the tourism businesses within the county. Face-to-face opportunities to meet, share ideas and develop methods of working together are fundamental to the ongoing success of this initiative.

“These initiatives will only succeed with the backing and support of the private sector through joint workings and two-way delivery. We have to deliver smarter ways of promoting the county with a lot less budget, but achieving great results.”

Three similar networking opportunities are to be held at various locations across Suffolk. For more information, email amanda@visiteastanglia.net .