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ITEM EX12

EXECUTIVE - 3 APRIL 2002

A VISION FOR TOURISM IN OXFORDSHIRE: REPORT BY THE SOUTHERN TOURIST BOARD

Report by the Director of Cultural Services

 

Introduction

  1. The purpose of this report is to inform the Executive of the outcome of work by the Southern Tourist Board (STB) regarding a tourism strategy for the county, and to propose next steps for the County Council.

    2. Background

  2. Tourism forms an important part of Oxfordshire’s economy and has a recognisable impact on the county’s quality of life. The County Council is directly or indirectly responsible for a number of tourism assets (e.g. museums, footpaths), and for significant parts of the infrastructure which supports tourism (e.g. transport). It now also has explicit powers to improve the economic, environmental and social well-being of the county.

  3. The Oxfordshire Structure Plan offers planning guidance with respect to tourism-related developments. The Oxfordshire Plan cites support for the rural economy as a key issue under the overall goal of sustaining prosperity. Otherwise the County Council has no current policy or strategic framework for tourism management and development, and no resources budgeted for the purpose.

  4. Tourism was adversely affected during 2001 firstly by the impact of Foot and Mouth Disease, and subsequently as a result of a fall in international travel after 11 September. Both factors prompted challenges from the tourism sector with regard to the County Council’s lack of strategic involvement.

  5. Work with the City Council and others to bid for the title European Capital of Culture 2008 has also underlined the need for a clear shared vision and strategy for tourism in the county. It is clear that this is an aspect of a joint bid which is of particular interest to District Councils. Consultation on Oxfordshire’s Local Cultural Strategy also highlighted this issue, and one of the resulting objectives is the creation of a shared plan for sustainable tourism.

  6. In September 2001 STB were commissioned to draft a long-term vision and strategy for the development of tourism in Oxfordshire, based on broad consultation and analysis of current strengths and weaknesses. They were also asked to identify the potential contribution which might be made by the County Council to the achievement of that vision.

    7. STB’s Conclusions

  7. STB have completed their review and submitted their report The Vision for Tourism in Oxfordshire. A copy is in the Members’ Resource Centre and is available for public inspection. Members may also obtain a copy from the Director of Cultural Services. Representatives of STB have recently made a presentation on the findings to Members of the Executive and the Learning & Culture Scrutiny Committee.

  8. In brief STB propose a vision for tourism which:

    • increases economic benefit by attracting high-spending visitors from the least obtrusive markets;

    • is based on strategic planning and the integrated development of the infrastructure (e.g. transport, signage and hotels);

    • extends the range of cultural and leisure facilities available to residents;

    • manages potentially negative impacts on the environment;

    • ensures customer satisfaction through high quality.

  1. Their report recommends seven priority areas of activity:

    • regeneration of the rural economy;

    • development of the tourism infrastructure;

    • labour and skills shortages;

    • support for niche markets;

    • wider access for residents to cultural assets;

    • increased access to external funding;

    • collaborative tourism research.

  1. Annex 1 to this Report reproduces these elements of the proposed vision in a little more detail.

    2. The Role of the County Council

  2. The STB report concludes that for the vision to be achieved there is a need for the County Council to play an active part. In particular most, if not all, of the seven areas for action listed above require a strategic lead which the County Council could be in a position to offer, and might be expected by others to do so. This view appears to be shared widely within the tourism industry and by District Councils.

  3. In practical terms, the report recommends:

    • the creation of a post of Tourism Development Officer

    • an operational budget, including some provision for pump priming to attract other funds;

    • organisation of a forum to discuss and agree shared aims and objectives for tourism development in Oxfordshire, based on STB’s work.

  1. The estimated revenue cost of an officer and operational budget is £50,000 in a full year.

    2. Views of Scrutiny

  2. The Learning & Culture Scrutiny Committee were invited at their last meeting to express their views on the STB report. The Committee's views are summarised in Annex 2 to this report.

    3. Next Steps

  3. Although tourism development has not been a high priority for the County Council, its actual and potential impact upon the economic, environmental and social well-being of Oxfordshire suggests that it would be appropriate for the Council to have a view about its future direction, and to be clear about what role the Council wishes to play.

  4. It may be that in the longer term members would wish to revise priorities in order to allocate resources directly to tourism development, possibly in the way recommended by STB. Compared with the resources put into this area of activity by some other County Councils, the STB recommendation could be considered modest. However, in the light of the County Council’s present financial situation and budget strategy, it is unlikely that an amount of the order of £50,000 would be available for this purpose in 2002/03.

  5. Members may wish to explore alternative approaches to attaining the proposed vision through working in partnership with others, including the District Councils, the Oxfordshire Economic Partnership and representatives of the tourism sector of the economy. The proposed forum at which the vision is to be shared with a wider range of organisations could provide a good starting point for such partnership working and for identifying what part individual players can realistically be expected to take in a strategy to achieve the vision.

  6. Such a forum could be organised as a single event in co-operation with STB, and within existing resources.

    7. RECOMMENDATION

  7. The Executive is RECOMMENDED to:

          1. endorse the broad vision for tourism development in Oxfordshire described in the Southern Tourist Board report;

          2. seek the views of the Local Strategic Partnership on the vision;

          3. commission a one-off forum of tourism related interest groups at which to present the vision and receive views;

          4. request officers, following consultation, to present proposals in July 2002 for future action, including any resource implications which will need to be considered as part of the 2003/04 budget-setting process.

RICHARD MUNRO
Director of Cultural Services

Background Papers: None

Contact Officer: Richard Munro, Director of Cultural Services, Tel: (01865 810191)

March 2002

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