IT may be his busiest time of the year, but Santa found time today for a special task - promoting Suffolk Coastal as a holiday destination.Although the long, hot and lazy days of summer are far from most people's thoughts, tourism officers are just launching their campaigns to get people to book next year's breaks.

IT may be his busiest time of the year, but Santa found time today for a special task - promoting Suffolk Coastal as a holiday destination.

Although the long, hot and lazy days of summer are far from most people's thoughts, tourism officers are just launching their campaigns to get people to book next year's breaks.

Tourism is worth £170 million a year to the district's economy and provides the equivalent of 4,000 full-time job.

Father Christmas rode into Easton Farm Park on his sleigh to deliver the first batch of the 85,000 copies being printed of the 2006 Suffolk Coast Holiday Guide to council vice-chairman Sir Peter Batho.

“We calculate that since 1974 we have distributed over 1.5 million copies of our holiday guides and this latest edition has a print run of 85,000 that will be sent throughout the British Isles and well beyond,” said cabinet member John Perry.

“The guide remains a massively popular and useful way to find out where to stay and what to do in our district but it is not the only way that people get information from this council about tourism. This August alone, our tourism pages on our website were viewed over 20,000 times.”

The guide has been redesigned for this year and features more than 180 accommodation providers and places to visit, plus a list of some of the main events planned for the year.

Copies are sent all over the world, with the campaign backed by promotional adverts in the national media, including women's magazines, TV magazines, daily and Sunday newspapers, and specialist publications. The network of Tourist Information Centres across the country also receive the guide.