Faith tourism plan launched in Wales

A bid to boost tourism at places of worship in Wales was launched last weekend by Welsh Economy and Transport Minister Edwina Hart, writes Paul Wilkinson.

Ms Hart said the Faith Tourism Action Plan aims to increase the £12 million currently spent by “faith tourists”. She said that while several Welsh places of worship already attract huge numbers of visitors every year, the plan also focuses on lesser-known sites.

“Churches and chapels have a presence in every community and the activities within Wales’ places of worship have helped shape its language, culture and way of life,” she said. “Temples of all religions, holy sites and pilgrim trails also have their place.”

One idea put forward in the plan is the development of a pilgrims’ walking trail from South Wales to St Asaph’s Cathedral in Denbighshire.

Ms Hart admitted that increasing the total that tourists spend visiting “faith venues” may be difficult, because many places of worship are closed or appear closed to visitors.

The Catholic Church in Wales is supporting the initiative but said it is unlikely to be involved as, according to a spokesman for the Archdiocese of Cardiff, the Church has little to offer in the way of sites that might attract visitors.

“Most of our buildings are modern and don’t have the history that attracts visitors,” said the spokesman. “When it comes to competing with places like St David’s Cathedral or Tintern Abbey, we can’t really do it.”

The five most visited places of worship in Wales in 2011 were St David’s Cathedral with 262,000 visitors; the Norwegian Church, Cardiff Bay, with 148,547; Brecon Cathedral and Heritage Centre, with 120,000; Tintern Abbey with 69,631; and Llandaff Cathedral with 40,372.