News by email Donate

Suggestions

Top Stories

Most Read

Popular Videos

Canterbury-Cathedral-Main_article_image.jpg
Canterbury Cathedral
UK News

Canterbury Cathedral pins visitor slump on terrorism, among other factors

Approximately 875,000 paying guests passed through the tenth century landmark last year, compared to nearly 1,070,000 in 2007.

Bosses believe the slump has been particularly stark since the Charlie Hebdo attack in 2015 when two brothers forced their way into the Paris office of a satirical newspaper and killed twelve people.

Director of visits and marketing at the cathedral, Therese Heslop told Kent Online: "Visitor numbers have gone down ever since Charlie Hebdo, and terrorism continues to affect the tourism industry, and especially major tourist attractions."

Canterbury Cathedral was ranked at the 19th-most visited attraction in the UK ten years ago. By last year, it had slipped to 43rd.

Therese Heslop went on to say: "In terms of money, we are talking [about a loss of] between £200,000 and £250,000 a year."

Canterbury Cathedral

Visiting school children from continental Europe have traditionally been a major source of revenue for the World Heritage Site, comprising of a quarter of all paying guests.

Yet, 30,000 fewer youngsters in groups visited Canterbury Cathedral last year compared with 2014.

Voicing some optimism around growth in adult group visitors, Heslop added: "The American market is strong and our status as Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and part of Canterbury's World Heritage Site continues to attract visitors from all over the world."

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate