Oxford Official Walking Tours launch new tour: Oxford On Screen
Award-winning Oxford Official Walking Tours is responding to the booming global travel trend for “set-jetting” by launching Oxford On Screen an exciting new tour looking at the city through the lens of iconic film and TV shows.
Oxford Official Walking Tours are operated by destination management organisation, Experience Oxfordshire, and are an unmissable element of a visit to the city, as well providing residents with a great opportunity to rediscover their hometown. The tours were recently recognised by Tripadvisor with the 2024 Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award, which is based on a full year of positive reviews for delivering amazing experiences to visitors and marks the Oxford Official Walking Tours as being among the top 10% of attractions worldwide.
The most popular tour amongst visitors is the Oxford University & City Tour during which, in addition to sharing historical facts, fables and gossip, guides can explain the collegiate aspect of the University, a concept with which visitors are often unfamiliar.
The Oxford On Screen tour will explore Oxford’s role as a backdrop to TV and film, identifying locations featured in productions as diverse as Harry Potter, Saltburn, Wonka, James Bond and Mamma Mia 2 plus the much-loved TV shows Inspector Morse, Lewis, and Endeavour.
Oxford On Screen public tours will last two hours and operate twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays at 11:30am, commencing 25 July 2024. The tour can also be booked for private and group parties. All Oxford Official Walking Tours are limited to a maximum of 20 people per group to provide the most positive experience.
The team of friendly, confident guides already offer specialist tours following in the footsteps of authors and academics, including CS Lewis & JRR Tolkien.
Commenting on the new tour, Experience Oxfordshire CEO, Hayley Beer-Gamage said: “We have long recognised screen tourism as a driver for choosing a leisure tourism destination, but this desire to “be where it happened” has grown exponentially in the Instagram age. Expedia Group have stated that more than half of international travellers revealed to them that TV shows and films inspire their travel plans. According to the British Film Institute (BFI), inbound tourists spent an estimated £892.6 million on film-related screen tourism in the UK in 2019.*
“In launching this new tour we aim to capitalise on this interest for the benefit of the city. Our guides are often the first point of contact visitors have here and they are able to explain Oxford’s layout, point out landmarks and influence visitor movement around the centre. Our city has provided the perfect backdrop for many influential productions and we’re really looking forward to presenting our destination to this audience.”
Last year the national tourism agency, VisitBritain, officially recognised the importance of film and TV viewing as a key motivator for travel when it signed an agreement with the British Film Commission. The upcoming global campaign “Starring GREAT Britain” will use filming locations and associated visitor experiences as a basis for exploring the UK’s nations and regions.
During the summer months and until the end of October, Oxford Official Walking Tours will be offering an extended programme of activity. For more information and tour bookings go to: www.oxfordofficialwalkingtours.org or email officialtours@experienceoxfordshire.org
**ENDS**
NOTES TO THE EDITOR
Image: Available via the following link. Additional images are available on request.
Media contact: Lesley Wright / press@experienceoxfordshire.org / 01865 686433
Oxford Official Walking Tours is operated by Experience Oxfordshire. For full tour details, information, and online bookings: www.oxfordofficialwalkingtours.org
• For enquiries and group or private bookings email: officialtours@experienceoxfordshire.org or phone: 01865 686441
• Private Tours are available on request, subject to availability, and can be tailored to meet requirements.
• Public tours are 2 hours long and leave from outside the Cool Britannia shop on Broad Street.
• Prices for the Oxford On Screen www.oxfordofficialwalkingtours.org/tours/oxford-on-screen-walking-tour tour are as follows:
– £35 Adult (ages 18+)
– £30 Senior (ages 65+)
– £30 Student (with valid ID)
– £26 Youth (ages 6-17)
– £10 Child (ages 0-5)
Facebook – Oxford Official Walking Tours
X – @OfficialToursOX
About Experience Oxfordshire – the official Destination Management Organisation (DMO) for Oxfordshire. The trading arm of the parent charity, Experience Oxfordshire Charitable Trust, it is a not-for-profit partnership organisation committed to the promotion, management, and development of Oxfordshire as a great destination to live, work, visit and do business thus improving growth and productivity across the visitor economy. One of the first Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEP) announced by VisitEngland, the DMO is recognised as a high-performing organisation, supporting collaborative working both locally, through its network of partners and those with interest in the visitor economy, and nationally on shared priorities. It provides essential business advice and support to visitor economy businesses across Oxfordshire.
For more information on Experience Oxfordshire go to www.experienceoxfordshire.org/partner or contact partnership@experienceoxfordshire.org
Facebook – Experience Oxfordshire
Instagram – @experienceoxfordshire
X – @ExperienceOx and @ExperienceOxBiz
LinkedIn – Experience Oxfordshire
*Expedia Group: https://www.expedia.co.uk/travel-trends-unpack-24/set-jetting-forecast/
BFI: https://www.bfi.org.uk/industry-data-insights/reports/uk-screen-sector-economy
