Harry Potter factor can add some magic to your tourism figures, cathedrals told

CATHEDRALS should contact film studios to offer themselves out as locations following a boost in visitors to those used in the Harry Potter franchise, a Government review has found.

The report by Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth, minister for faith, found that areas which had appeared in the popular films had received a flurry of extra tourists following their release.

Lord Bourne spent a year touring all 42 Anglican cathedrals in England and concluded that they were doing “exceptional work” to bring in visitors.

Parts of the Harry Potter series were filmed in Durham, Gloucester and Oxford Christ Church cathedrals. These areas have experienced a “growth of tourism”, he said, fuelled by resources such as Visit Britain’s map of locations used in the films.

He said other cathedrals should “convey an openness to this kind of activity” by “promoting filming on their website or contacting film producers”.

Earlier this year the Church of England launched an investigation into the running of cathedrals after concerns that financial crises threatened their future.

A working party was set up to examine the fiscal future of the buildings following problems at cathedrals including Peterborough and Exeter.

The group will examine whether cathedrals should continue to be run independently of the Church of England, after a report into the problems at Peterborough found that their financial issues posed “serious risks to the reputation of the whole Church”.

In March three Exeter cathedral staff were at risk of redundancy and the Very Rev Dr Jonathan Draper left as dean, following criticism from the Bishop of Exeter, who accused him of poor financial management.

Currently nine Anglican cathedrals charge for entry. Lord Bourne said there were cases where charging had not “automatically increased the income of cathedrals”.

Chester cathedral decided that their entrance fee dissuaded people from visiting and has instead trained volunteers to encourage people to donate, which brings in more income than an entry fee, said Lord Bourne.