Experience Oxfordshire Venues increases Business Visits and Events Activity
This week Experience Oxfordshire Venues is delighted to announce its membership of the mia (Meetings Industry Association) and launch of a new digital Venues Guide for Oxfordshire. Experience Oxfordshire Venues (operated by Experience Oxfordshire) is a promotional and referral service for venues and suppliers across Oxfordshire that links buyers to products, venues and suppliers to drive bookings into Oxfordshire.
This autumn the team from Experience Oxfordshire, the destination management organisation, will attend a series of international trade events ensuring the county’s unique range of venues and experiences is showcased to the meeting, incentives, conferences and events industry (MICE) from across the globe, with more details to be announced about an extensive trade programme.
Spending on average 54% more per visit than other inbound travellers to the UK, the MICE sector is back on track post pandemic. The Events Industry Council (EIC) has stated that 81% of global direct spending was recovered in 2022 and with spending in 2024 expected to hit pre pandemic levels, Experience Oxfordshire is working hard to ensure the county benefits from this. Prior to the pandemic business visits and events activity accounted for 29% of visitor visits to Oxfordshire.
Meetings will take place with carefully selected buyers and bookers from the travel trade across America and Europe starting in San Francisco this week at VisitBritain’s Destination Britain North America flagship event.
The Experience Oxfordshire Venues Referral Service has received recent requests for advice and information from USA, UAE, China and Scandinavia as well as from enquirers within the UK and our increased programme of activity aims to build on this pipeline.
This week the team will publish the latest edition of the digital Experience Oxfordshire Venues Guide, 50 pages highlighting the range, diversity and depth of quality of the venues and experiences available within the county.
In addition to investing in trade activity and new promotional assets, Experience Oxfordshire Venues have had their destination application for mia approved, which shows their commitment to quality and standards across the meetings, incentive, conferencing and events sector.
Commenting on the importance of this sector and Experience Oxfordshire’s response to the opportunity, Chief Executive, Hayley Beer-Gamage said: “We recognise the importance of maintaining the county’s profile within the business visits and events sector both internationally and here at home. We have recently received accreditation from the Meetings Industry Association, which demonstrates Oxfordshire’s commitment as a destination to attracting this market and we look forward to working with the mia to grow the value of this sector.
“Our latest edition of Experience Oxfordshire’s Venues Guide showcases the fabulous range and the unique product and experiences offered by venues and suppliers across the county. It also highlights the county’s location with easy access from points of arrival within the UK, which is also a major selling point. On every level Oxfordshire is the perfect place to host an event.”
Kerrin MacPhie, CEO of the Meetings Industry Association said: “As the leading association supporting and growing the business meetings and events industry in the UK, our role is to drive best practice and to champion excellence in this sector. We are delighted that Experience Oxfordshire has joined the mia at this exciting time for the business meetings and events industry in the UK.”
“Oxfordshire has a wonderful selection of meeting, conference and event venues from UNESCO world-heritage palaces and ancient libraries to high-tech venues. Its diverse range of venues are suitable for everything from bio-tech conventions to luxury incentive breaks to corporate retreats from nearby London.”
This activity follows a successful Experience Oxfordshire Venues partner meeting at the Bodleian Library in August where attendees received presentations from MeetEngland, GWR and Experience Oxfordshire Venues.
The Experience Oxfordshire Venues Guide can be viewed here: https://www.experienceoxfordshire.org/oxfordshire-venue-guide
**ENDS**
NOTES TO THE EDITOR
Experience Oxfordshire is the official Destination Management Organisation (DMO) for Oxfordshire. We are the trading arm of the parent charity, Experience Oxfordshire Charitable Trust, and are 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.
In March 2023 Experience Oxfordshire was announced as 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. The creation of LVEPs was part of the UK Government’s response to the recommendations of ‘The de Bois Review: an independent review of DMOs in England,’ to reshape destination management across England, reducing fragmentation and bringing coherence to its DMO landscape.
Businesses, venues and suppliers can find our more on the Experience Oxfordshire Venues service at www.experienceoxfordshire.org/venues or contact venues@experienceoxfordshire.org
For more information on Experience Oxfordshire go to www.experienceoxfordshire.org/partner or contact partnership@experienceoxfordshire.org
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
Twitter – @ExperienceOx and @ExperienceOxBiz
LinkedIn – Experience Oxfordshire
The Meetings Industry Association (mia) is the principal association supporting and growing the business meetings and events industry in the UK.
It is the keeper of AIM Secure, the UK’s only recognised quality standard for the meetings industry. The mia supports members through thought leadership, research, education, training, best practice guidance and is a powerful voice for its members. Working in partnership it aims to promote sustainability, DEI and wellness through best practice tools and insights. It is a powerful voice for its members.
