Churches to Boost Olympics Tourism in 2012

The Church of England's Church Heritage Forum has told the Culture, Media and Sport Committee of Parliament that church and cathedral tourism could be used to spread the expected benefits of Olympics tourism across the country in 2012.

Church and cathedral tourism already generates some £300 million a year for the economy but the Church Heritage Forum believes it could generate even more throughout 2012 when Britain hosts the Olympics.

The forum, established in 1997, brings together representatives of national and local church interests in matters relating to the church's built heritage. It said in its submission to the CMS Committee's inquiry into tourism: "Cathedrals and historic churches are a quintessential feature of our landscape and they are part of the historic narrative of our national identity which has a strong appeal for domestic and foreign visitors alike."

It added: "The current interest in genealogy and the tracing of ancestry is an area which could be promoted as part of 2012; churches are an integral part of this."

But the Church of England said that the potential of church tourism to develop and become an even greater key part of the country's attraction for both foreign and domestic visitors is "not always recognised" and, as a result, "is not supported and resourced to the degree it deserves".

"Churches are key architectural buildings containing works of art from wall-paintings to woodwork down the centuries, and embodying the social history of their communities," it said.

Local initiatives, such as in North Yorkshire, have shown that encouraging church tourism by providing training and resources to local churches can increase visitor numbers by as much as 120 per cent. They have also shown that opening up more churches brings real benefits to community cohesion and encourages churches to provide other community activities, the Church of England said.

"Yet churches and cathedrals receive no Government funding towards their role as tourist attractions, even though the Department for Culture, Media and Sport awards grants to museums to enable free public access," it said.

While the National Railway Museum in York received a grant of £5.66 million in 2005/6, equivalent to £6.50 per visitor, York Minster, which received 895,000 visitors in 2006, received no assistance prompting the need to charge from £5.50 per adult visitor to cover the cost of keeping the building open, safe, secure and in good repair.

"Churches are an existing resource and there is no major development required to exploit it except for the need to develop a national infrastructure and co-ordinated marketing campaign," said the Church Heritage Forum.

"Additional resources and support are needed to help develop a national co-ordinated 'framework for action' on the marketing of historic churches to potential visitors."

Key organisations interested in church tourism have formed the Sacred Britain Tourism Partnership and the Churches Tourism Association has launched a new website (www.churchestourismassociation.info, www.churchestourismassociation.org.uk) to encourage the promotion of church tourism and provide resources for churches.

The forum welcomed these developments and called for further partnerships to develop church tourism further.