ITEM CMDL3
LEADER OF THE COUNCIL – 20 JANUARY 2009
Tourism – Oxford Tourism Study
Report by Chief Executive of Oxfordshire Economic Partnership
INTRODUCTION
1. This paper describes
the main findings of the Oxford Tourism Study which was commissioned jointly by
Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council, and, the West End
Partnership. It describes why the study was commissioned, the roles of key
partners, and an analysis of Oxford’s current tourism situation which has
repercussions for Oxfordshire’s tourism economy. It also refers to
consultations that were held with the industry that helped shape the
recommendations that are made in the study. Finally the proposed future role
for the County Council and Oxfordshire Economic Partnership in light of the
strategic objectives is discussed. A copy of the Executive Summary is available
in Annex 2 (download as .doc file).
WHY THE STUDY WAS COMMISSIONED
2. It is widely recognised that Oxford’s visitors make a significant contribution to the economic prosperity of the City (and the wider county) and the quality of life enjoyed by the people who live and work here. It also helps project a very positive image of the City to the outside world, and it means that Oxford has a greater variety of shops and cultural facilities than the resident population could support. To maintain sustainability of the sector the following are seen to be vital.
- To ensure tourism continues to generate benefits for the city and the surrounding area - Work out how to manage visitors once they are in the City both to ensure that their experience is of the highest quality and to minimise any problems for the destination. - Keeps its appeal as a destination, and remains competitive
3. Oxfordshire County Council has been involved from the start and financially supported this study so that it engaged the wider hinterland/ county offer. There has been a small steering group driving this important study:
- Helen Ryan-Wallis, Promoting Oxfordshire Manager on behalf of OCC and OEP - Mark Jaggard, now Spatial and Economic Development Manager at Oxford City Council, who also reported to the West End Partnership - Michael Crofton Briggs, Head of City Development, Oxford City Council and, - Jane Lubbock, Strategic Procurement and Shared Services Manager at Oxford City Council.
ROLES OF KEY PARTNERS IN TOURISM
4. Oxford City Council plays an important role in marketing and managing tourism. It owns and operates some attractions, runs the information centre, supports events, produces marketing print and maintains the website and is responsible for maintaining the public realm.
5. Oxfordshire County Council: Has a growing interest in wider tourism issues alongside its important role as transport and highway authority and as a partner in the West End development. The county has agreed the current LAA 1 and 2 Targets for tourism with the districts, to ‘increase the value of tourism to the local economy through increasing the worth of tourism activity for local businesses’.
6. Oxfordshire Economic Partnership: Has a county-wide public/ private partnership whose role is to ‘drive economic development and sustainable growth across Oxfordshire’. It has established a tourism task group to look at tourism issues and opportunities, and to ensure these feed into the wider programme of work to ensure Oxfordshire has a world class, thriving economy.
7. Alongside the industry there are also a number of other agencies with an involvement in tourism including, Destination Oxford, West End Partnership, Tourism South East, Oxford Inspires, Oxford Marketing Group, the Universities and several others.
THE CONSULTANTS ANALYSIS OF OXFORD’S CURRENT TOURISM SITUATION
8. Areas of concern and tension which were highlighted which could erode and threaten Oxford’s position and maintenance of its market share in the longer term include:
- Problems of overcrowding and congestion which degrade the visitor experience and cause some tension with local residents. - An image which is a bit one-sided, looks back rather than forward and perhaps doesn’t reflect the full scope of Oxford’s aspirations. - A reputation for being expensive which could deter people from staying in the City. - Access by car is difficult and may become more so over time which may deter some visitors. - Lack of investment in the public realm and basic visitor services is leading to deterioration in the visitor experience and doesn’t match the best in European heritage cities. - There is ambivalence about tourism and its benefits from some quarters in Oxford. - There is a preponderance of short stay and day visits which limits the value of tourism. - There is a lack of co-ordination and management of tourism. There are numerous groups involved with tourism at both county and City levels yet the approach is fragmented, uncoordinated and poorly resourced.
CONSULTATIONS
9. The study is based on widespread consultation with those involved in tourism in the City (and key businesses/organisations within Oxfordshire), including surveys of tourism enterprises and the University Colleges, two stakeholder workshops and many face-to-face meetings, as well as a detailed review of existing research and current policies.
10. The first workshop was held in the town hall and saw an overwhelming turn out from the industry. The main issues that arose from discussions included; the industry wished to see better management of tourism, less seasonality, and, wider dispersion of visitors (to surrounding areas) alongside a modest growth in volume of visitors. There was also a desire to broaden the Oxford brand.
11. Feedback from the City Council Talkback Panel suggested that local residents do recognise the economic contribution that tourism makes and they agree it can help support a wider range of facilities. They were concerned with congestion and overcrowding, although the general impression of tourism was more positive and that is not a major issue of concern or complaint.
12. The survey of tourism enterprises was found that response rates weren’t as good as had been hoped yet feedback gained suggested that the main emphasis should be on lengthening stay, encouraging off-season visits, and, increasing value.
13. Overall feedback from the various consultations suggests that there is a broad consensus for taking a more measured approach to increasing tourism in the future. There is support for placing more emphasis on managing tourism to reduce impacts, gaining more value from tourism, and better sustainability.
RECOMMENDATIONS WITHIN THE OXFORD TOURISM STUDY
14. There are three strategic objectives to sustain and manage success:
1. Developing more focused marketing and communication 2. Making the experience of visiting Oxford special 3. Improving the management and co-ordination of tourism
15. Related to the second objective, to improve the experience, the West End has a key role to play to assist in improving the look and feel of the city. Transport also has a key role to play through improving information at rail, bus stations and car parks alongside providing provision for coaches (also generally improving signage across the county). The role for economic development will be to assist in diversifying Oxford’s offer by promoting/linking to the wider hinterland to spread the economic benefit.
16. With regard to objective three- management of tourism, the study suggests an options appraisal is undertaken to look at three future options for the management of tourism. Oxfordshire Economic Partnership (OEP) are keen to drive forward this objective with the support of Oxfordshire County Council (OCC) on behalf of the industry. The options are: 1. Strengthening the City’s tourism department, 2. Establishing a new tourism Destination Management Organisation (DMO) for the city, or 3. Establishing a county-wide tourism Destination Management Organisation/ Body.
It is considered that the preferred option is 2 or 3.
PROPOSED FUTURE ROLE FOR THE COUNTY COUNCIL AND OEP IN LIGHT OF THE ABOVE STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES
17. There needs to be close partnership working between City, County and OEP for tourism to improve. There are many underlying issues that need addressing before embarking on delivery of the action plan (the actions for OCC and OEP are mentioned in Appendix One). A key role, as mentioned above, for OCC and OEP will be to work with the City Council to review the management of tourism on behalf of the industry. There are possibilities of an independent Destination Management Organisation being an ‘arm’ of the OEP. OCC have a direct role in making sure transport, strategic planning policy, and the West End partnership are aware and encourage the right sort of tourism, by liaising with local tourism officers/ the industry.
18. More could happen to help achieve -‘Priority 9: More informed decision making’ through being more aware of what is happening to tourism in Oxford and Oxfordshire by measuring impacts and monitoring visitor satisfaction all of which are key to the successful management and marketing of tourism. This would require: - Undertaking of regular surveys - Research - Monitoring changes in the accommodation stock - Recording visitor numbers at attractions - Recording occupancy information - Measuring economic impact -for the last few years the County Council has commissioned and paid for the economic impact models for 2005, 2005 and 2007. There is also budget available to purchase the next 2008 model through LABGI funding. The funding for this annual commission of data is vital in assisting monitoring the LAA1 and LAA2 targets around tourism and will require future budgets.
19. All of the above is considered a weak area and data collection isn’t currently happening across Oxfordshire at the level it should. This causes problems when decisions need to be made at a strategic level.
CONCLUSION
20. The Oxford Tourism Study proposals are beneficial for tourism in the city and across Oxfordshire. There are good suggestions on how to improve the tourism sector to ensure future profitability and sustainability.
RECOMMENDATION
21. The Leader of the Council is RECOMMENDED to endorse the overall aims of the Oxford Tourism Study.
22. Please note -The level of detail that is within the action plan will be refined as we move forward so that all partners are engaged. Also Oxford City Council is also undertaking a similar process before sharing the final version of the Study with the industry and partners.
DAVID DOUGHTY Chief Executive of Oxfordshire Economic Partnership
Background papers Oxford Tourism Study
Contact Officer: Helen Ryan-Wallis Tel: (01865) 815539
December 2008
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