Chilham demonstrates successful ‘community led tourism’ with the launch of the Chilham Country Break on Tourism South East’s Rural Ways website.
As part of the Transmanche Sustainable Tourism Project, the Kent Downs AONB Unit has been working with Chilham’s tourism and retail businesses on developing a community led Country Break. With support from the Hidden Britain initiative, Chilham’s Country Break has now gone live at www.ruralways.org.uk/countrybreaks/ highlighting all that is available in the village and surrounding areas.
Creating a Country Break requires tourism and related businesses to work together and one of the greatest results of this local collaboration in Chilham has been the formation of the Chilham Tourism and Retailers Group (CTRG) – an informal networking group of local businesses and interested parties that are tackling other important issues such as the threatened reduction of train services. The British Eventing day at Chilham Park on 3rd August will see the Group exhibiting together under the CTRG banner for the first time.
Helen Kirwan of Monckton Cottages, a member of the CTRG, says “CTRG was formed to promote Chilham’s beautiful built heritage and surrounding countryside for visitors to ensure that they have a really fantastic experience in the parish. Our Country Break is a terrific boost for the community’s efforts to encourage tourism and will be a valuable contribution to the development of Chilham’s economy.”
Best described as ‘plugging the rural information gaps’, the aim of Tourism South East’s (TSE) Rural Ways website is to provide information on rural areas to the potential visitor. Too often, villages such as Chilham can become stop off points for a quick photo opportunity, resulting in little more than an increase in traffic and irritation for local residents!
The Country Breaks section of the website features a series of suggested itineraries, designed to encourage the visitor to spend longer in an area discovering its natural heritage and make use of local services. Covering all aspects of an area in terms of its landscape, attractions, culture, heritage, activities, food and drink, arts and crafts, accommodation and transport, it provides an opportunity for rural areas to describe what makes their area special and provide ideas on what visitors can see and do.
Developing a Country Break can bring a number of benefits to an area, by providing the vehicle through which stronger collaboration amongst local businesses and other interested parties is developed. Establishing a local network, such as the CTRG, can give a community a stronger say in how tourism is managed and promoted in their area. Lucy Frankel of Castle Cottage B&B says “the process has brought the tourism related businesses together and strengthened the community. I hope that this is the first step in a process which will help to make Chilham a magical place to visit as well as a wonderful place to live.”
Sustainable tourism development work supported by TSE, the Kent Downs AONB Unit and the Hidden Britain initiative helps identify and reduce any negative impacts of tourism on the environment, supports local tourism providers and increases the contribution to the local economy.
Rural Ways is featured, with links, on the Visit Britain and Visit South East England websites, as well as the TSE, Visit Kent and Kent Downs AONB sites.
Entries (RSS)