Churches Tourism Association

The Diocese of St David has produced a Visitor Toolkit – a self assessment tool for any church wanting to look at their welcome procedures in a systematic way. The Toolkit covers all aspects of church welcome – leaflets, signage, churchyard, atmosphere, access, care, feedback and much more. It is available to download free, or printed copies are obtainable for £4 from Rev Sarah Geach, Begelly Rectory, Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire SA68 0YG.

Visit www.stdavidsdiocese.org.uk and follow tourism/resources links. The Diocesan Tourism Group has also designed a visitors book which, through the column headings on each page, will give a valuable insight into those who are often our unseen guests. It is hoped that this will not only give a parish help in catering for the needs and expectations of those it welcomes, but will enable the Diocese to find out more about those who visit its churches. The Visitors Book costs £6 + pp. It is spiral bound and has space for 250 visitor entries. For more information, see the website, from which you can download a sample page.

The Diocese of St David’s website article on welcoming visitors concludes with this brief but useful advice:

• Think about initiatives which will promote partnerships & get the wider community & tourism providers involved in delivery;
• What else is being done in the Village or nearby that we can ‘tap into’…other events, other groups
• Make sure your ideas are REALISTIC, APPROPRIATE, ACHEIVABLE & SUSTAINABLE….