Tourism conference highlights ways to develop year-round visitor economy
Visitor economy businesses, public authorities and Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) convened on Thursday, November 5 at The Halls in Norwich for the annual Suffolk and Norfolk Tourism Business Conference.
Organised by the Suffolk and Norfolk Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP), managed by Visit East of England, the conference brought together stakeholders in the regional tourism sector to discuss subjects including:
- Improving accessibility and inclusion provision for potential visitors, headlined by Dom Hyams of Purple Goat
- Developing a year-round visitor economy by spreading demand seasonally and geographically
- Improving sustainable public transport and connectivity as well as investment in road and rail infrastructure, led by Andrew Summers, Chief Executive of Transport East
- How the tourism sector and the LVEP’s ‘Naturally – A Welcome for All’ placemaking brand can work with the Suffolk and Norfolk Nature Recovery strategy
- The LVEP’s work with the University of Greenwich to develop Regenerative Tourism for the Brecks National Character Area and on to the whole of Suffolk and Norfolk.
Lady Victoria Borwick, Chair of the VisitEngland Advisory Board, outlined the work of Visit East of England to bring together stakeholders to help grow the region’s visitor economy, already the biggest sector at £6.2bn a year, and largest employer, with more than 125,000 people working in tourism and hospitality.
Lady Victoria highlighted the importance of collaborative working to achieve regional tourism objectives.
The 2026 Tourism Business Conference at The Halls Norwich
How the Suffolk and Norfolk LVEP is attracting new staying visitors
The conference also heard from:
- Ipswich-based Destination Core on their work to develop a single digital content management system underpinning the Visit East of England, Visit Suffolk and Visit Norfolk websites and ways to attract AI searches to member listings
- Consultant Mary Harris of Bird Global on progressing the ‘Naturally – A Welcome for All’ placemaking brand
- Creative studio AntiGravity on their successful work on the LVEP’s first paid-for marketing activity aimed at attracting new staying visitors this Autumn, ‘Home of the Harvest – Come Hungry’
Conference presentations
Revisit the ideas, insights and discussions from the Conference. Explore the presentations from the day, with contributions from our speakers covering accessibility, destination marketing, regenerative tourism and opportunities to develop a stronger, year-round visitor economy.
Download the presentations here
Working together for the future of tourism
The conference reflected the ongoing work of Visit East of England and the Suffolk and Norfolk LVEP to bring together public and private sector organisations to support the growth and development of the region's visitor economy.
Pete Waters, Executive Director of Visit East of England, said: ‘The 2026 Suffolk and Norfolk Tourism Business Conference highlighted how we need to work together to develop the visitor economy, already the biggest sector and employer. There is so much more potential to grow further.
‘If we spread demand seasonally and geographically, we can develop a year-round sector that puts more money into businesses’ pockets to invest in more full-time employees, to upskill staff and pay better salaries. That’s the challenge and opportunity for the combined Suffolk and Norfolk visitor economy. We look forward to working with public authorities, DMOs and visitor economy businesses to achieve this.’
Conference photo gallery
Take a look back at the Conference and browse the photos capturing the speakers, discussions and highlights from across the day.
Rachel Cook and Jordan Yates of AntiGravity present 'Come Hungry'
Sharing ideas and making connections
Alongside the conference sessions, a marketplace showcased businesses and organisations supporting the visitor economy across Suffolk and Norfolk, giving delegates the opportunity to meet exhibitors, make new connections and share ideas.
Conference sponsors Lovewell Blake, Larking Gowen, Howes Percival, Naked, and Greater Anglia were joined by marketplace exhibitors FSB, Tyneham Home & Hospitality, Meet Cambridge, Natural Norfolk, Ronaldo Ices Ltd and Swiss Camplings.
The conference also provided an opportunity to celebrate the announcement of the 2027 Suffolk & Norfolk Tourism Awards finalists, with shortlisted businesses and organisations displayed on the main screen during lunch.
Congratulations to everyone who made this year's shortlist.
View the 2027 Suffolk & Norfolk Tourism Awards finalists
A big thank you to all our speakers, sponsors, marketplace exhibitors and delegates who helped make the day such a success.