A SUFFOLK town is drawing up a new blueprint to boost tourism and realise its economic potential over the next six years.Ipswich Borough Council will discuss its new tourism strategy to 2010 at its executive meeting tomorrow .

A SUFFOLK town is drawing up a new blueprint to boost tourism and realise its economic potential over the next six years.

Ipswich Borough Council will discuss its new tourism strategy to 2010 at its executive meeting tomorrow .

In 2000, the East of England Tourist Board estimated that the overall value of tourism to Ipswich was £123.9 million and this supported 3,884 jobs.

The document, which will update the last strategy adopted in 1997, reveals that the Waterfront plays an important part in the tourism of the town.

The opening of the Salthouse Harbour Hotel on the Waterfront in June last year and the Orwell Lady leisure cruises, which are in their third year, brought a tourism focus to the town, the report says.

The council hopes Ipswich will be given an extra boost from other heritage attractions as well as the proposed redevelopment of Cranfields Mill, including the DanceEast dance house.

In the strategy Cllr Phil Smart, who is responsible for planning and economic development, said that local residents also benefit from the facilities, attractions and the conservation of historic buildings made possible by tourism.

He added: "Recent research funded by the East of England Development Agency recognised the transformation of Ipswich over recent years, so much so that there is every reason for it to be a significant tourist destination.

"There remains much work to be done but I hope that everyone who will read this tourism strategy will share our vision for the development of tourism in Ipswich, a major urban centre for tourism by the year 2010."

The local authority is working with more organisations, including the Suffolk Development Agency and the Haven Gateway Partnership.

It aims to make the town cleaner and more attractive as well as encourage investment, protect its natural, historical and built environment and promote leisure opportunities.

It will also target people in the 45 to 65 age group, tourists likely to take short breaks and those heading to Suffolk's coastal resorts as potential visitors to Ipswich.