Places of worship and the tourism destination experience

The Churches Tourism Association, working with the backing of the Churches Conservation Trust and VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, has launched an “agenda for action” to promote visits to churches and other places of worship of recognised heritage significance. The Sacred Britain Working Group includes representatives from many church, government and heritage organisations.

The aims are to raise public awareness in visiting churches and to enhance the experience of those who visit both casually and in organised groups. Some visit for heritage or cultural events, others may be researching family history or local connections. Improvements to information, including on-line media, will be encouraged to provide opening hours and pre-visit research.

I will be seeking support for a PMM at General Synod calling for a Church Tourism Group (and/or a Tourism Officer) to be created in each Diocese. Most of the Dioceses who have dedicated posts or representative bodies have been successful in raising the profile of church tourism in the “honey-pots”, but there is a great deal of potential in other areas including “marmalade” areas. Successful initiatives can lead to local bodies supporting events and improvements for the benefit of the whole community.

The difficulties encountered during the Foot and Mouth Outbreaks showed the vulnerability of rural areas to a slowdown in tourist income but both rural and urban areas can do much more to tap into the value of tourism which is worth more than £7bn to the economy. Visits to local attractions are of great indirect benefit to guest houses, shops and cafés and partnerships need to be created to add value to visitors.

Roy Thompson