Churches Tourism Association

Newcastle Diocese of the Church of England set up a Tourism Task Group in 2006 to encourage and enable parishes to offer a ministry of welcome to visitors. Chaired by the Dean of Newcastle, the Very Revd Christopher Dalliston, its concern has been to enable the experience of visitors to be enhanced through a greater awareness of the Christian Heritage of the North East.

This includes sharing ideas and experience in managing the visitor experience with sensitivity, developing spiritual resources, creating a greater awareness among regional bodies of the opportunities historic churches represent, and encouraging the development of new facilities.

Activities have included 'visitor welcome' workshops, a Diocesan Synod Forum in March 2009, and production of practical advice such as How to encourage visitors on a spiritual journey (written by Eileen McLean) - see separate article here .

In March 2009 the Tourism Task Group produced Mission:Visitors - a guide for churches seeking to raise their profile in the tourism market place. This can be downloaded from here Promoting Your Church (Andrew Duff).

Ideal for churches already embarked upon visitor welcome activities and presenting their story, the guide sets out a series of low-cost steps to build a profile with the local tourism community and reach new visitors. Whilst contacts given are specific to the Newcastle and Northumberland area, the principles are widely applicable.

According to Bishop Martin of Newcastle, the challenge of church tourism is how to engage in partnerships, how to look beyond ourselves, how to offer welcome and hospitality, and how to tell our story, “For the Church doesn’t exist for itself. It exists for the sake of those who don’t belong.”