NEWS IN DEPTH | COMMENT Now is the time to act


Oxfordshire still has to fight for its share of the tourism pound


EXPERIENCE OXFORDSHIRE


Experience Oxfordshire is the official destination management organisation for Oxfordshire. A not-for-profit partnership


organisation, it is the trading arm of parent charity, the Experience Oxfordshire Charitable Trust. The DMO is not publicly


funded, and its revenue comes from commercial services such as the Oxford Visitor Information Centre; Oxford Official Walking Tours; a partnership network of businesses; marketing Oxfordshire locally, nationally and internationally; and seeking strategic investment. Hayley Beer-Gamage, chief


executive, said: “Bob is such a credible figure in the sector and we are delighted to be working with him and have his support. It is great to see him encourage businesses to work with us and he will be a great asset.”


My parents lived in Oxfordshire for much of their life, I


was born in Oxfordshire, I went to school in Oxfordshire, and always regarded the county as my home.


So what other reason would


I need to accept the honour of first patron for Experience Oxfordshire? For the tourist, Oxfordshire has


so many possibilities – the city and its ancient colleges, world- famous museums, the rivers and the many unique Cotswolds villages, some fine restaurants and hotels and many pubs, as well as Blenheim Palace, one of England’s grandest homes – worth a day’s visit on its own. All these attractions make


Oxfordshire an ideal tourist destination, which already earns the county more than £2 billion every year.


Serious wisdom


With the government blowing hot and cold about the value and finance of regional tourist boards, Oxfordshire displayed


some serious wisdom when it set up its own hybrid local tourist board, the destination management organisation Experience Oxfordshire. Tourism is one of the most


important emergent industries in the world (and UK) economy. But the competition from the rest of the UK and, indeed, worldwide, is intense. That £2 billion needs to grow if


the county is to continue to prosper from tourism. Despite its many attractions,


Oxfordshire still has to fight for its share of the tourism pound. That’s what Experience Oxfordshire is doing, which benefits every one of the county’s traders and households directly or indirectly. So, my aim is to encourage even


more support for the organisation. Tourism to an area will only succeed if the greatest number of businesses support its promotion. It can’t be


left to a few far-sighted people. Oxford is a big county with a


great story to tell, attracting a wide variety of visitors – including the day visitor to the city, the week-long holidaymaker, the serious student, or those just keen to enjoy the county’s beautiful acres.


Maximise revenues


It’s a diverse market and if we are to boost that £2 billion income, we need to focus on each of these different markets. This takes time, money and effort,


so the more support Experience Oxfordshire gets, the better equipped it will be to maximise the county’s tourism revenues. The organisation needs more


partners to make significant inroads into boosting the county’s tourism numbers and income. Now is the time to act – nobody


4 For more columns by industry leaders go to travelgbi.com 14 TravelGBI | September 2018 travelgbi.com


Bob Cotton – the first patron of Experience Oxfordshire – calls on local businesses to work together to boost the county’s £2bn tourism industry


BOB COTTON OBE After a degree in hotel and catering administration, he held management positions with British Leyland, Chrysler and Inchcape. Cotton joined Gardner


Merchant and looked after public relations and communications through its management buyout from Forte and subsequent sale to Sodexo. He was appointed tourism adviser at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in 1998, then became chief executive of the British Hospitality Association (now UKHospitality) in 2000. He retired from the BHA in 2010, becoming an independent consultant to the hospitality industry.


8 experienceoxfordshire.org


else will do it. Oxfordshire’s many hotels, restaurants and pubs, shops, tourist attractions and transport interests, farmers and food producers all benefit from the organisation’s efforts. That benefit will be so much


greater if all these businesses join Experience Oxfordshire as a partner. I’m greatly looking forward to supporting these efforts.


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