Suffolk is at op spot to visit

SUFFOLK'S growing popularity as a tourist spot has been highlighted at the launch of a holiday guide.

The 2004 Suffolk Coast Holiday Guide includes aerial shots of a number of the district's most attractive locations and will be sent all over the world.

The print run for this year's guide has been increased for the fifth year running to meet growing demand.

The launch at the House in the Clouds at Thorpeness, included guests from tourism-based businesses.

Tourism is worth £143 million a year to the area, said Valerie Donovan, Suffolk Coastal District Council's tourism and resort manager.

"I don't think it's reached saturation. I think in certain areas we have got hot spots but I think there are vast areas of Suffolk which could have more tourists," she said.

Accommodation listed in the guide is all inspected and quality assured, she said, and visitors associated the area with quality.

Suffolk Coastal leisure boss Tony Osmanski said tourism was "one of the major drivers of the local economy", along with the Port of Felixstowe and agriculture.

Around half of Suffolk Coastal is either an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, an area of special landscape interest or part of the Heritage Coast, and there are six million visits a year to tourist attractions.

A national advertising campaign to promote the new guide begins on Boxing Day.

The county has a lot to be proud of in the last year.

It leads the East of England for mentions in the Good Hotel Guide, and a record-breaking summer season has meant some seaside businesses have had to turn people away until mid-September.

New statistics prove that tourism is one of the fastest growing business sectors in the Eastern Region, creating one in four of all new jobs.

An image of Suffolk was selected this year for the front cover of the UK's VisitBritain Guide.