A project to boost tourism along the Suffolk coast has been given a boost of nearly half a million pounds from the Government.

Developing prospects on the Suffolk Coast: Economy, People, Environment, is being run by the Suffolk Coast Ltd Destination Management Organisation (DMO) and Suffolk Coast & Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, working alongside Suffolk Coastal and Waveney district councils.

It has been given £490,000 from the Department for Communities and Local Government’s Coastal Communities Fund.

The project will develop key assets and deliver events and more activities, particularly off-season, in a bid to protect jobs by encouraging more tourists to stay longer and visit all year round.

Tourism is worth more than £500m annually along the Suffolk coast and provides around one in every nine jobs in the area.

Andy Smith, deputy leader of Suffolk Coastal District Council and cabinet member for economic development, said: “This is great news for the area. It will help us to hugely expand the scope of our work as the public and private sectors together build a strong local tourist economy.

“It is yet another example of the success of our strategy to develop strong local partnerships to deliver better services for our area despite the ever-decreasing cash available to us.

“Our bid is based on the Suffolk Coast & Heaths Tourism Strategy, and the Suffolk Coast Ltd DMO has then identified ways in which we can make the Suffolk coast even better to visit, and easy to find out about.

“Thanks to the support from the Coastal Communities Fund, these improvements can now be made.”

Tim Rowan-Robinson, chairman of the Suffolk Coast Ltd DMO, added: “This is wonderful news. This award will enable the Suffolk Coast DMO to take a large step forward in promoting our fantastic part of the country and to develop new reasons for visitors to come here, particularly outside the normal tourist season.”