Churches hold tourism conference

Churches hold tourism conference

Representatives from North Yorkshire churches are meeting to discuss ways of attracting more visitors.

Over 150 church delegates are expected to attend the conference at St Aidan's School in Harrogate.

Topics for discussion include how to organise events to bring in more visitors and how to access funding for heritage projects.

New tourism leaflets and a website about local churches of interest will also be launched at the conference.

The "Making Our Buildings Sing" event is part of the North Yorkshire Church Tourism Initiative.

David Andrew, chief executive of the Yorkshire Tourist Board, said: "Churches in the region have a huge amount of cultural, religious, social and architectural history to offer the visitor.

"This conference will help the people who run our churches day-to-day to give visitors a better understanding of their importance and enhance the visitor experience."