Olympic Opportunities at Tourism Conference

Choose Suffolk has announced the line-up for its annual tourism conference, ‘Destination Suffolk – 2012, The Opportunities for Suffolk’ and tickets for the event at Trinity Park, Ipswich on Wednesday 3rd March are now available online at www.suffolktourismpartnership.org.uk/conference.

Building on the success of last year’s conference, which attracted more than 250 delegates from across the county’s tourism industry, alongside representatives from the public sector and other stakeholders, this year the event will focus on the 2012 Olympic Games and explore the opportunities for Suffolk.

Alex Paul, Tourism Manager at Choose Suffolk, said, “We’re already finding that there’s a great deal of interest in this year’s conference and the county’s tourism sector wants to discover just how the Olympics in London will impact positively on them. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event for the UK, and Suffolk is well-placed to leverage in huge financial benefits, while raising its profile on the international stage.”

The Conference will be opened by Andy Wood, Chairman of Choose Suffolk and Managing Director of Adnams, who will introduce a number of high-profile speakers and the programme of workshops. He said, “Suffolk is very accessible from the capital and, as such, is an extremely attractive proposition for Olympic visitors who want to explore beyond London and discover a different slice of British life. It’s important that the county’s tourism businesses do all they can to attract these potential visitors, alongside those after the Games.”

Simon Clegg, Chief Executive of Ipswich Town Football Club, will give an insight into his role as one of the UK’s most experienced sports leaders as the former CEO of the British Olympic Association. He was appointed a CBE in 2005 for his contribution to the conception and success of the London Olympic bid and was one of the three British signatories on the International Olympic Committee’s host city contract awarding the 2012 Olympic Games to London in Singapore. In Beijing during 2008 Simon led Team GB to its most successful Olympic Games since 1908 achieving a goal he had set for Team GB in 2012 of finishing 4th in the Olympic medal table.

Simon said, “Bringing the Olympic Games to London will reap huge rewards not only for London but the whole of the UK. The world’s media focus will be on us and we must ensure that we make the most of this ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity. Suffolk is ideally placed with its geographical proximity to London, its communication links to Stratford and its quintessential English villages, countryside and coastline to capitalise on the millions of overseas visitors who will wish to take the opportunity of attending the Olympic Games to experience more than just the sport. I am delighted to be working with Choose Suffolk to turn this opportunity into reality.”

Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive of VisitBritain, will explain how the national tourist board for Britain views the Games as a catalyst for generating visitor interest in the country, both in the run-up to, during and beyond the Games’ duration. She said, “Our strategy is to ensure that the Games works for the entire country; not just London, so counties such as Suffolk, with its wide range of attractions, diverse countryside, culture and heritage, stands to benefit from the activities surrounding the Olympics. These include everything from the Cultural Olympiad, to the pre-Games training camps. This Conference will make Suffolk tourism businesses aware of the many opportunities and help them prepare to maximise opportunities.”

As the Managing Director of VisitManchester, a division of the city’s promotional agency, Marketing Manchester, Paul Simpson will deliver an overview of how a major sporting event, such as Manchester’s Commonwealth Games in 2002, can generate opportunities for regional tourism. “Our experience in Manchester during the Commonwealth Games demonstrates the value that a large-scale event can bring to the economy and particularly the tourism sector. The London Olympics offers the chance for all of the UK’s counties to showcase their individual appeal to an audience of millions, and Suffolk’s tourism providers need to make sure their message hits home.”

This year, the Conference’s core sponsors are Suffolk County Council and The East of England Development Agency (EEDA). The event will be closed by Andrea Hill, Chief Executive of Suffolk County Council, who said, “The annual Choose Suffolk Tourism Conference is of paramount importance to the county’s tourism industry and this year’s event, with its focus on the opportunities presented by the 2012 Olympics, has particular resonance for the sector.”

More information about ‘Destination Suffolk – 2012, The Opportunities for Suffolk’ can be found at www.suffolktourismpartnership.org.uk/conference, alongside regular updates on twitter at www.twitter.com/DestSuffolkTC.