Experience Oxfordshire showcases the success of the county’s visitor economy during English Tourism Week 2024

Experience Oxfordshire the county’s destination management organisation and official Local Visitor Economy Partnership* is highlighting Oxfordshire’s success stories in an extensive programme of activity during English Tourism Week.

Coordinated by national tourism body, VisitEngland, this year’s English Tourism Week is taking place between 15 and 24 March and 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.

As in previous years, the Experience Oxfordshire team is engaging with industry representatives, local and national politicians to remind them of the important contribution the visitor economy makes.

Oxfordshire’s individual MPs are visiting venues within their constituencies to hear the latest news, concerns and expectations from owners and operators on how business is performing in 2024. Experience Oxfordshire Partners will have the opportunity to engage in a lively discussion on Thursday 21 March when Oxfordshire’s MPs will come together for an online Visitor Economy Cross-Party Roundtable Discussion.

Throughout the week Experience Oxfordshire’s social media team will be shining a light on the fantastic venues and range of tourism experiences offered across the county and the award-winning Oxford Official Walking Tours will be offering a 15% discount for all new Oxford University & City Walking Tour bookings made and taken during English Tourism Week.

In advance of the national celebration Experience Oxfordshire has delivered a packed trade engagement programme selling Oxfordshire as a destination through meetings with international trade buyers and representatives at the VisitBritain flagship event Showcase Britain 2024, the Britain & Ireland Marketplace, VisitBritain Nordics, International Confex and to UK based group travel organisers with Experience Oxfordshire Partners at the Excursions Show 2024.

Experience Oxfordshire CEO, Hayley Beer-Gamage said: “English Tourism Week is a fantastic opportunity for the sector to take stock of the wonderful range of experiences we offer visitors and the diverse employment opportunities created.

The Experience Oxfordshire team takes great pride in promoting our county’s businesses to trade representatives within the UK and those overseas because we know we have best in class products and services delivered by a committed and competent sector.

Here in Oxfordshire some 37 thousand people are employed within the visitor economy, generating £2.17 billion worth of value to our economy. This is a sector which deserves recognition and support and we look forward to promoting it to key influencers and decision-makers during this important week.”

Businesses wishing to join the Visitor Economy Cross-Party Roundtable with Oxfordshire MPs can register here.

To claim 15% off Oxford Official Walking Tours’ award-winning Oxford University & City Walking Tour go to www.oxfordofficialwalkingtours.org and insert code ETW2024 at the checkout by 24 March 2024 for tours taken by the same date.

**ENDS**

NOTES TO EDITORS

Image: available via the following link.

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

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

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

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