Cross party-political support and engagement across Oxfordshire during English Tourism Week

With the national tourism agency, VisitBritain, forecasting 2025 as the year international visitor numbers and spend will return to pre-pandemic levels, destination management organisation Experience Oxfordshire, took the opportunity of English Tourism Week 2024 to highlight the role the county’s visitor economy businesses will play in ensuring Oxfordshire benefits from this.

The latest annual figures available show over 26 million visitor trips to the county generated over £2.27bn for the local economy and was responsible of 37 thousand jobs. Over the last week, the official Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP)* organisation organised a series of visits to businesses across the county for local Members of Parliament, to show how these figures translated into everyday business activity. In addition, the Experience Oxfordshire team were delighted to showcase Oxfordshire at its best to Tourism Minister, Julia Lopez MP, and the CEO of VisitBritain/VisitEngland, Patricia Yates, both of whom commended Experience Oxfordshire for the role they play locally and their commitment to the new LVEP programme.

Anneliese Dodds MP met with George Sandbach, Proprietor and Founder of The Sandy’s Group which has been opening a variety of bars, including live music venues, wine bars and cocktail bars in and around Oxfordshire over the last four years. Following her visit, Anneliese Dodds MP said: “It was a pleasure to meet with George Sandbach of The Sandy’s Group and discuss both the joys and challenges of operating in hospitality. Our pubs, restaurants, cafes and bars are at the heart of Oxford’s economy. They of course provide great social spaces but in addition they also offer important employment opportunities for people to develop vital skills within the workforce. I know that Experience Oxfordshire, the local “destination management organisation”, works hard to bring visitor economy businesses together to advocate for this sector.  At a time when many businesses in the sector are struggling it was heartening to hear about The Sandy’s Group’s optimistic outlook and future plans.”

Robert Courts MP visited TreeDwellers, where he met with Founder CEO Tim Rees and his team. Due to open this year, TreeDwellers is a set of seven extraordinary ecocentric, high-spec treehouses in the forests of Oxfordshire’s Cornbury Estate. This unique addition to the county’s visitor experiences offers a hybrid between a boutique hotel and a self-catering tree house in an enchanting setting.

Commenting on the development Roberts Courts MP said: “Here in Oxfordshire we are lucky to have the choice of outstanding accommodation and event venues which Experience Oxfordshire’s dedicated team work hard to promote at home and internationally. TreeDwellers is a great example of the innovation and entrepreneurialism operating within Oxfordshire’s visitor economy. I congratulate Tim and his team for their work in creating such an iconic new addition to Oxfordshire’s hospitality sector.”

Layla Moran MP visited The North Wall Arts Centre, operated by a charitable Trust and dedicated to bringing together artists and audiences from Oxford and beyond to make, share and experience art of the highest quality. Any profit made from a ticket or bar sale helps to run participation and creative programmes. Following her meeting with Ria Parry, Director of The North Wall and Alastair Chirnside, Warden at St Edward’s School, the Centre’s principal sponsor, Layla Moran MP said: “A strong arts and culture experience is an essential element of a thriving destination. The North Wall is a wonderful example of creativity and dynamism and my visit there showed me that here in Oxford and Oxfordshire there is an ongoing commitment to the sector.  I congratulate The North Wall Trust and the Arts Centre team on their excellent community engagement programmes, eclectic exhibitions and the performances they stage and I commend Experience Oxfordshire for their work in promoting our county’s rich cultural offer to visitors locally and across the globe.”

David Johnston MP was at White Horse Hill, Uffington to meet Founder Liz Morrison of the Happiness Horsebox CIC, which helps people with disabling conditions to access the countryside. David Johnston MP said: “It was great to meet the team at Happiness Horsebox and hear about their commitment to ensuring everyone has access to the countryside. Oxfordshire has so many brilliant attractions and I was delighted to meet with Experience Oxfordshire whose work ensures we are recognised as a top destination for tourism.”

Commenting on a successful week of showcasing the county’s visitor economy to key influencers, Hayley Beer-Gamage, Experience Oxfordshire CEO said: “Tourism is often quoted somewhat loftily as a force for good. But here in Oxfordshire during English Tourism Week we’ve been able to showcase why that is so true.

“At TreeDwellers we have a new business which is being built with strictly ecological principals at its heart; The Sandy’s Group recognises the importance of the quality of welcome and consistency in delivering memorable experiences to locals and visitors; at The North Wall Arts Centre the local community, and visitors from further afield, enjoy a range of excellent performance, workshops and support networks; and with the Happiness Horsebox, funding partners have come together to increase accessibility for all in the countryside.

“Together with those businesses who obviously benefit directly from visitors, such as arts and culture, hospitality, attractions, the heritage sector, retail and transport and tour operators, the visitor economy embraces service providers and ancillary services such as technology providers, education establishments, sport and finance. All of which contribute to the local economy and therefore residents’ quality of life.

A destination with a thriving visitor economy is a great place to live, work and do business as Tourism Minister, Julia Lopez MP, was able to see firsthand during her visit to the new Schwarzman Centre in Oxford and the well-established Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons, A Belmond Hotel.”

**ENDS**

NOTES TO EDITORS

Images: available via the following link. Clockwise from top left:

Image 1: Robert Courts MP visits TreeDwellers and meets Founder CEO, Tim Rees and Experience Oxfordshire CEO, Hayley-Beer Gamage

Image 2: Tourism Minister, Julia Lopez MP visits the Schwarzman Centre and meets Experience Oxfordshire Marketing & Partnership Manager, Lesley Wright; Chief Operating Officer and Divisional Registrar of the Humanities Division, Alexandra Vincent; Responsible Owner and Chair of Project Board for the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities, Professor William Whyte; Head of the Humanities Division, Professor Dan Grimley; Buildings Operations Leader at Laing O’Rourke, Steve Holland; and CEO of VisitBritain/VisitEngland, Patricia Yates

Image 3: David Johnston MP visits Happiness Horsebox CIC and meets Founder Liz Morrison, Winnie Wilkins, Elaine Baber, Fabuloso and Experience Oxfordshire Marketing & Partnership Manager, Lesley Wright

Image 4: Layla Moran MP visits The North Wall Arts Centre and meets Director of The North Wall, Ria Parry and Experience Oxfordshire Senior Projects Lead, Jenny McGee

Image 5: Tourism Minister, Julia Lopez MP visits Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, A Belmond Hotel and meets Chef Patron Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Raymond Blanc OBE; General Manager Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Niall Kingston; CEO of VisitBritain/VisitEngland, Patricia Yates; Experience Oxfordshire CEO, Hayley Beer-Gamage

Image 6: Anneliese Dodds MP visits The Oxford Wine Cellar part of The Sandy’s Group and meets Proprietor and Founder of The Sandy’s Group, George Sandbach and Experience Oxfordshire CEO, Hayley-Beer Gamage

Media contact: Lesley Wright / press@experienceoxfordshire.org / 01865 686433

Experience Oxfordshire is the official Destination Management Organisation (DMO) for Oxfordshire. It is the trading arm of the parent charity, Experience Oxfordshire Charitable Trust, and is a not-for-profit partnership organisation that is committed to the promotion, management, and development of Oxfordshire as a great destination to live, work, visit and do business whilst improving growth and productivity across the visitor economy. The DMO provides essential business advice and support to visitor economy businesses across Oxfordshire.

*Experience Oxfordshire was one of the first English destinations to gain Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) status. Developed and administered by VisitEngland, the national portfolio of strategic and high-performing LVEPs support collaborative working locally and nationally on shared priorities and targets to grow the local visitor economy.

For more information on Experience Oxfordshire go to www.experienceoxfordshire.org/partner or contact partnership@experienceoxfordshire.org

You can keep up to date with Experience Oxfordshire’s activity by following:

Facebook – Experience Oxfordshire
Instagram – @experienceoxfordshire
X – @ExperienceOx and @ExperienceOxBiz
LinkedIn – Experience Oxfordshire

English Tourism Week is coordinated by national tourism body, VisitEngland, and this year takes place between 15 and 24 March. It highlights the sector’s economic importance to the local economy, building awareness of the innovation, quality and range of visitor experiences on offer in England. It’s also celebrating the skill sets and the diverse range of jobs, careers and developmental opportunities offered by the sector.

VisitBritain/VisitEngland is the national tourism agency, a non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS). Statutory duties are to encourage people to visit Great Britain and people living in Great Britain to take their holidays there; encourage the provision and improvement of tourist amenities and facilities in Great Britain; advise any minister or public body on matters relating to tourism in Great Britain as a whole. https://www.visitbritain.org/about-us

For more information about VisitEngland and English Tourism Week 2024 see: https://www.visitbritain.org/english-tourism-week or contact Charlotte Sanders at VisitEngland: charlotte.sanders@visitengland.org M: 020 7578 1428