Celebrate the growth of the ‘staycation’ at Suffolk Inside Out

A desire to showcase all that Suffolk has to offer and a rise in the ‘staycation’ market trend has inspired students at University Campus Suffolk (UCS) to create a new concept in business networking events during ‘English Tourism Week’.

‘Suffolk Inside Out’ is the brainchild of five enterprising students studying a degree in Event, Business and Tourism Management. The team intends to build upon the success of the ‘Suffolk Unlocked’ conference that took place in March 2015 with the support of a range of partners.

One of a series of annual events ‘Suffolk Inside Out’ is planned to take place on Friday 11 March 2016 at Trinity Park Conference Centre, Ipswich. The vision of the project is to celebrate the wealth of business opportunities in the county of Suffolk, with a focus on the county’s thriving tourism industry and how ‘staycations’ have contributed to local success stories.

According to the World Travel Market Industry report 2015(1), the UK was named in the top three holiday destinations for 2015 and remains in the top three for consumers considering holidays in 2016. Barclays Business stated that the: “…thriving staycation economy is boosting small businesses around the country”, and estimated £22.5billion is spent on UK staycations every year. The research suggests that three quarters of UK adults (77%) have been on, or are planning a UK staycation. VisitEngland reported that British consumers took 18.3million holiday trips in England from January to June 2015 – up by 2% year-on-year – and expenditure increased by 6% to £4.4billion.

Laura Locke, Senior Lecturer and Course Leader of the programme at University Campus Suffolk says “The growing tourism economy within Suffolk along with the growth in ‘staycation’ holidays nationally, provide a wealth of small to medium enterprises in the county leading to many business opportunities. These businesses include accommodation providers, event venues, leisure and hospitality businesses, cultural arts and heritage organisations alongside many agricultural businesses that have diversified to provide visitor attractions and food tourism. The challenge to support and sustain these industries, in a difficult economic environment, provides the focus for the ‘Suffolk Inside Out’ event on Friday 11 March.”

The academic team of the BA (Hons) Event and Tourism Management programme have worked to develop the annual business-to-business event project since 2006, and are delighted that Trinity Park Events and White Space Design alongside Affinity PR and Ipswich Town and Waterfront have once again offered their valuable support for this year’s project.

Laura adds “Live projects such as this and others that are developed in partnership with Suffolk businesses mean that our students gain very valuable experience to support their high quality employability skills. Collaborative learning experiences contribute to the success of the course which achieved 100% satisfaction in the National Student Survey 2014/15.”

Kesha Allen, a student on the Event and Business Management degree and project team member of ‘Suffolk Inside Out’ says “Being a part of the student team providing a platform for Suffolk’s tourism business’s to network is a real privilege. ‘Suffolk Inside Out’ will bring tourism business’s together to showcase sustainable growth opportunities within the sector and how trends such as ‘staycations’ influence continuity and impact the tourism market. We hope it’ll be a must-attend event this spring!”

  • Tickets are £30 per person including refreshments and lunch. To book click HERE
  • Showcase your business in our Marketplace, £60 per table which includes lunch and refreshments for one person – Please contact Kimya [email protected]
  • Sponsorship opportunities available – Please contact Seniha [email protected]