TOURISM CONFERENCE SUPPORTS SUFFOLK’S SPORTING STARS

Suffolk’s young Olympic stars of the future will benefit from this year’s Destination Suffolk 2010 Tourism Conference, taking place at Trinity Park, near Ipswich on Wednesday 3^rd March, after the event’s organiser, Choose Suffolk, announced that it will present a cheque to the Suffolk Sports Aid Foundation.

The Tourism Conference will focus on the opportunities tourism businesses in Suffolk can yield from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and Choose Suffolk will use the event to also provide valuable assistance to the county’s budding Olympians and Paralympians through the Suffolk SportsAid Foundation.

The Suffolk SportsAid Foundation has been established to support local athletes that have been inspired by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It works in partnership with national charity, SportsAid, to raise money to provide financial support to Suffolk’s talented sportsmen and women, helping them to achieve their sporting goals.

Celia Hodson, Chief Executive, Choose Suffolk, said, “As an organisation that champions Suffolk for business and tourism, we are proud to play our part in also nurturing our county’s future sports stars, helping them on their way to Olympic success in the years ahead. The Suffolk SportsAid Foundation does fantastic work and provides invaluable support during the early stages of a young athlete’s career when the necessary financial support can be hard to come by.”

One young athlete who benefits from the Suffolk SportsAid Foundation is 17-year-old swimmer, Lewis Coleman from Woodbridge (pictured). As one of the brightest swimming prospects in the UK, Lewis is a member of the Great Britain World-class Development programme and 2012 Target squad. He is ranked 1st in both England and Great Britain in the 100-metre and 200-metre individual medley, and in 2009 represented Great Britain at the European Junior Championships in Prague. Lewis said,“To me, the Suffolk SportsAid Foundation makes it feel that my hard work and dedication doesn’t go unnoticed. It’s also rewarding that I have the support for swimming outside of my immediate family.”

The Destination Suffolk 2010 Tourism Conference will bring together 250 delegates from across the county’s tourism sector, worth an annual £1.63 billion to the Suffolk economy, who will hear presentations from Olympic and middle-distance running Legend, Steve Cram; Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive, VisitBritain and Paul Simpson, Managing Director of VisitManchester. Simon Clegg, Chief Executive, Ipswich Town Football Club will join a panel debate and there will also be a programme of workshops giving delegates an insight into the latest tourism intelligence and marketing techniques.

Tickets for ‘Destination Suffolk – 2012, The Opportunities for Suffolk’ are available online at http://www.risingtothechallenge.org/mailer/tracker/click?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.suffolktourismpartnership.org.uk%2Fconference&ref=00000022-0000003f.