Fun, faith and fellowship: British Methodism and tourism in the twentieth century

Abstract

The interaction between religion and tourism has been little studied in the British historical context. A case study is offered of the contribution made by Methodism, the largest of the British Free Churches, to the development of holidays during the twentieth century. The provision of resort hotels in Britain by Methodist-affiliated agencies is reviewed, including the history of Methodist Guild Holidays (MGH) and Methodist Holiday Hotels (MHH). The organisation of continental holidays for Methodists is also considered. The heyday of the Methodist holiday movement is shown to be in the third quarter of the century, although, even then, only a relatively small minority of the Methodist community took the opportunity of a denominational-based holiday. From the 1970s Methodism's holiday provision has diminished significantly, and reasons for this are suggested. Methodism's ministry to non-Methodist tourists has had limited success at the evangelistic level, albeit in recent years attempts have been made to realise the touristic potential of Methodism's historic sites.