Churches Tourism Association

The code is of relevance to churches wishing to encourage visitors.

Most churches are not traditionally thought of as visitor attractions and some congregations are uncomfortable about the perception that a Place of Worship could be bracketed together with an obvious tourist destination, like Alton Towers, for example. However, we may have something to learn from these attractions about our customer service, how we manage the visitors we do get and how we develop operating standards, for example.

One way to get involved on a more professional footing might be to get hold of the new National Code of Practice for Visitor Attractions, launched by the Quality Department at VisitBritain. From the 1st of April 2009 VisitBritain will only market and highlight those places that have signed up.

You can get hold of a copy of the Code by following the link below. Once you have read it and discussed it you send £25, along with the signed declaration, back to VisitBritain. This then gives you in return a Newsletter, access to other resources and, most importantly, inclusion on the EnglandNet database which powers the EnjoyEngland and VisitBritain.com websites. More information here .

This is a wholly appropriate code for places that experience a volume of visitors to sign up to but also for smaller churches that have potential for growth as a place of interest for visitors.

(Article courtesy of Divine Inspiration, Coventry)