Events in Ipswich have drawn hundreds of thousands of people into the town and boosted the economy by more than £9million, new figures reveal.
Ipswich Borough Council has revealed that its annual spend on events it organised was around £467,000 last year, and brought in more than a quarter of a million people.
Sponsorship from big events such as Ipswich Music Day and the Maritime Festival, as well as concessions and hires allows the council to recoup around £207,000 of that, leaving a cost to the borough of around £260,000 – the equivalent of roughly a pound per person.
Among those events are sports and leisure activities for youngsters held every day during the summer holidays, as well as the high profile gatherings.
Bosses have said it has made a major impact on the town’s economy.
Borough council deputy leader Bryony Rudkin said: “Our events programme and cultural offer attracts hundreds of thousands of people every summer and also establishes Ipswich as a regional visitor destination. Many of our events are free so you need not break the bank to get here.”
Visit Britain figures suggest that the average spend for a day trip in a large town in the UK is £33.88, meaning Ipswich’s visitors generate around £9.2m for the town’s economy.
Those numbers do not include other events held in Ipswich organised privately, such as beer and gin festivals and the Cycle Tour.
Leisure and tourist attractions, hotels, pubs, bars and restaurants are among those to benefit the most from the increased footfall.
While some activities such as swimming and football tend to attract visitors from within Ipswich, events like the Indian Mela and Global Rhythms attract people from further in the county.
Jack Cripps, All About Ipswich co-ordinator at Ipswich Central said: “Ipswich is very lucky to not only have some great festivals and events hosted by Ipswich Borough Council, such as Maritime Festival, Music Day and Global Rhythm, but also New Wolsey Theatre’s PULSE Festival, SPILL by Paccitti Company and also Jimmy’s Festival at Jimmy’s Farm alongside smaller festivals like PhotoEast and Ipswich Jazz Festival.”
He added that they had a significant impact on the town’s economy.
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