As background information, the meeting has also been provided with the following papers:

a)    A background report concerning in Oxford.

b)    An answer sheet responding to questions from the previous meeting.

c)     A report concerning hotels and short stay accommodation in Oxford.

d)    A scoping document which sets out the purpose of the Review.

Guests will be invited to make any opening statements if they wish, and the meeting will then move to questions and open discussion. This agenda will be reissued once guests are finalised. Confirmed external guests include:

·       Sushila Dhall, Oxford Pedestrians Association

·       Jeremy Mogford, Mogford Hotels and Restaurants

·       Felicity Lewington, Oxford Guild of Tour Guides

·       Rob Hough, Oxford Tube Operations Manager

·       Dr Rebecca Hawkins, MD of the Responsible Hospitality Partnership

·       Reverend William Lamb, University Church of St Mary the Virgin

·       Martin Kraftl, Oxfordshire County Council Principal Transport Planner

·       Jack Creeber, Oxfordshire County Council Interim Parking Manager

Examples of questions and themes that may be discussed include:

a)  How could the City better harness the benefits of tourism?

b)  How could coach access, parking and drop-off locations be better managed?

c)   What actions could be taken to support long term sustainable tourism?

d)  What digital innovations could improve the visitor and resident experience?

e)  What could be done to improve wayfinding and pedestrian flows in the City?

f)    Would there be value in introducing a tourist levy on hotel rooms or coaches?

g)  What future tourism challenges will local businesses and operators face?

Coaches

The Review Group specifically considered the matter of Coaches. Robert Smith, a resident of North Oxford, had submitted a paper in advance of the meeting. He explained that some coaches were:

·        Parking for free in side streets and resident bays in North Oxford

·        Parking over cycle lanes

·        Carrying out unsafe manoeuvres, such as U-turns in residential areas

·        Idling in residential areas

He said this was principally driven by insufficient coach parking facilities. A solution he said was to introduce high quality facilities for drivers at Water Eaton Park and Ride, ban coaches on streets within the ring road, and invest in high capacity electric coaches with high frequency trips into the centre. He said there was a business case for this by generating income through parking fees for reinvestment back into the County’s roads.

The Chair invited Martin Kraftl, Oxfordshire County Council Principal Transport Planner and Jack Creeber, Oxfordshire County Council Interim Parking Manager, to respond to the proposal. Martin asked the question:

Does the City want to encourage visitors and tourists to come to the City?

The answer, he said, had not been clear to date. On the one hand, there was a narrative from some of problematizing matters relating to tourism, and on the other, the City benefitted significantly from an economic and cultural perspective. A much more strategic view was needed, and before thought was given to the detail of coach management, the City needed to have a joined up perspective on what its ambition and vision was for tourism, and the transport planning would follow that vision.  There also needed to be clarity on whether the City welcomed coaches.

Operationally, tourist coaches were often full, and were operating as part of a package deal. Any suggestion of breaking the journey and introducing transfers to other vehicles will likely reduce the viability of the service, and put some people off. Previously, Oxpens worked well as a coach park, with up to 100 coaches using the service on busy days. It was close enough to the town centre for people to walk from. He said the fundamental question of whether the City wanted a coach park in the city centre needed to be answered. Any coach park would need good facilities for drivers which would incentivise them to use the service. He concluded that seasonality and peak season were a significant factor to consider when assessing demand. 

Jack Creeber said that Water Eaton did have a dedicate coach parking area, but it was not clear why this had been closed off. This could be brought back into use with minimal expenditure and work. He reiterated the view that there must be incentives for drivers to use such a service. There were not sufficient incentives to use Redbridge Park and Ride spaces as it was rarely used to capacity. Jason Munro at the City Council may have the relevant data on how often the facilities at Redbride were used.

There were a good number of spaces for coach parking across the City, but they were not being used sufficiently. He suggested that Ferry Hinksey Rd and the Osney Mead industrial estate may provide two areas for coach stops. There was also potential to extend facilities in this area. He concluded that a very high proportion of drivers remained in their cabs in illegal spaces, but when they were approached by enforcement officers, they would move on and no enforcement action could be taken. This was a significant drain on resources without few outcomes, as the powers afforded to the County Council were not strong enough to deal with such parking infractions.

The Chair remarked that themes concerning sufficient spaces, good driver facilities and proximity to the centre should all be factored in to the design infrastructure at Oxpens.

Rob Hough, Oxford Tube Operations Manager, said the City should be clear that it welcomes tourists, if it is to reap the benefits. Any changes or breaks in transport links from London would be detrimental, as people prioritise direct transport routes, and avoid having to change mode of transport. A principal selling point for coach companies was that they drop people in the centre.

Felicity Lewington, from Oxford Guild of Tour Guides, explained that drop off spaces in the centre were limited, and this presented challenges in St Giles and Beaumont Street. She said a number of external coach companies were not familiar with the area, which led to unsafe manoeuvres and inappropriate parking. She said the space in front of the magistrate’s court should be considered for improved drop off facilities. Also, Speedwell Street should be considered. Jack Creeber said that any suggestions of new spaces for drop offs were welcome. The Review Group highlighted that the Seacourt Park and Ride extension may offer additional space for coaches.

Jeremy Mogford, of Mogford Hotels and Restaurants, again reiterated that there was no clear vision from the City Council on these issues which were troublesome. He had previously raised the idea of having four coach hubs outside the city centre, with a free electric bus circulating to drop visitors into the centre. Through this approach, polluting coaches would stay outside the historic core of the City, which would improve the resident and visitor experience. Rob Hough highlighted that a frequent bus route from Redbridge to Water Eaton could provide this type of service.

Jeremy Mogford was concerned that adding a small number of drop off points would not solve the issue, and that a long and short term plan was needed, in light of growing visitor numbers. There was no leadership on the issue he said. He floated the idea of a new bus hub in the West End Development, and reserving Gloucester Green only for visiting coaches. Laurie-Jane Taylor, Oxford City Council City Centre Manager, said Gloucester Green should be considered for improvements and alternative use.

Jeremy Mogford said it was difficult to understand whether short day trip visitors had a valuable experience, given that they are rushed in and out of the city on mass, often with poor guides. He questioned whether the benefits of these groups coming to the City were unbalanced by some of the difficulties they presented. For example, he highlighted the low spend of day visitors. He provided the meeting with a number of newspaper clippings which highlighted how Venice and other European cities were generating revenue through charging visitors to enter the City, and imposing strict enforcement action on certain issues. He suggested this showed greater leadership and vision than is currently shown in Oxford.

Reverend William Lamb, from University Church of St Mary the Virgin, said that tourism and increasing visitor numbers should not be problematized. Instead, we should be looking to enhance their experience. He said that some visitor groups were rushed through attractions by untrained guides, and he questioned whether that provided a truly valuable experience for them. He wanted to ensure that everyone who visited the church had a valuable experience. He said that central drop off facilities could be prioritised for school groups, given the additional safeguarding and marshalling challenges for these groups.

In response to questions, Jack Creeber said that the introduction of a congestion charge, in the case of emitting vehicles for example, would require a major application to Central Government. However, the County Council lacked enforcement powers to uphold its running requirements. Rob Hough said that the Zero Emission Zone would be an ideal way of introducing a fee based vehicle entry system, noting that scheduled bus routes generally had much higher emission standards than long distance tourist coaches. However, he cautioned that coaches feed the local economy, and this would need to be reflected on as not to disincentivise coach visits.

Responding to further questions, Laurie-Jane Taylor said that any introduction of a business improvement district would operate only at the will of the levy payers, and the Council would have no influence over how it exercised its powers. She said the community toilet scheme had previously been introduced, but it was not resourced long term, which is why very few local businesses took up scheme. Some guests commented that the condition and standard of city centre toilets was particularly poor.

The Review Group heard that in recent years, the number of visitors coming from Asia and China in particular had increased significantly. Felicity Lewington said that the majority of these visitors are not independent travellers, but instead come as part of very large day visitor groups from London. They also brought their own guides, and so there was not necessarily a market for Mandarin speaking guides and signage, as suggested by others at the meeting. This cohort of visitors was therefore operating in a relative silo to the rest of the visitor market. As a result, there was very little revenue generation for local businesses.

The meeting discussed the issue of high volume, but low quality and low revenue tourism. It was broadly understood that more could be done to harnesses the financial benefits of such significant groups visiting the City.

Councillor Donnelly said that some people saw the Zero Emission Zone as having a limited ambition. He tabled the question of whether the City should be looking to disincentivise some types of visits (as suggested by others), such as day visits, in favour of incentivising overnight visits. The Review Group had already heard from Experience Oxfordshire that the benefits of overnight stays had a significant economic benefit. He echoed some of the views expressed by other guests about using the Zero Emission Zone as a strategic means of better coordinating coach movements. Reverend William Lamb said the Council needed to take a strategic view on increasing overnight stays which would be to the benefit of local businesses.

The Chair referred to a VisitBritain guide which used case study example of how barriers to coach access can cause a reduction in visits. Martin Kraftl said that the Zero Emission Zone would impose Euro 6 standards on scheduled bus routes in the city centre from 2020, and on unscheduled coaches from 2022, though the detail of how this will be done is still under discussion. This could only be done however through a type of charging scheme. Rob Hough said that coaches not meeting this standard could be made to use the park and ride facilities only, for example.

Wayfinding

The Chair invited the meeting to discuss how wayfinding, signage and pedestrian flows in the city could be improved. Felicity Lewington said the Guild of Tour Guides undertake nine months of training and are accredited guides. However, there were many other operators in the City that were not trained or accredited. The meeting recognised a wide range of abilities in the guide sector, and that some were offering a very poor quality service to the detriment of the City and the visitor experience. Felicity said there had been a rise in touts offering free tours, which were poorly managed. She said the Council should look at a licensing scheme for guides to tackle the issue. Groups should also be limited in size. Some guests said the free tours were in fact not free, as some felt compelled to tip.

Laurie-Jane Taylor said the Council could not license free tour guides, as they were technically not selling anything, and therefore not covered under licensing legislation. An alternative would be a byelaw, but that would be a costly and a long process. It could also be included in a public space protection order, but the Chair highlighted that it would be unrealistic to consider touts of free tours as anti-social in their behaviour.

Councillor Wolff said that in China for example, people were mandated to hand over their tour to accredited guides in certain locations. However, the Review Group noted that the majority of attractions in Oxford were free and in a public space, so this may not work as effectively in Oxford. Felicity highlighted that visitors are principally drawn to the City because of its universities, and less so by other historical attractions.

Reverend William Lamb said the Church was developing an app for wayfinding around the City, based on art installations, as well as looking at options for walks themed around religious history. He welcomed discussions with partners about how this would proceed. The Review Group said this was an excellent idea to the benefit of the City. Laurie-Jane Taylor said the City Centre Taskforce was looking at developing walking trails around the City also. Councillor Wolff said the Council needed more data to understand the demographic of the people arriving in Oxford. The meeting noted that improved digital guiding could help minimise pedestrian congestion and encourage people to stay longer in the City. Multi-lingua digital platforms would also be beneficial. Options for managing photogenic sports in the city were also discussed. 

The Chair said that more colleges could be open for more hours to visitors. Felicity said there was an open doors weekend for residents to visit the colleges, and some of the colleges were improving their access, although this was sometimes at a charge to visitors.

Tourism Tax

A theme throughout the meeting had been how the City could better harness the economic benefits of tourism, and the Chair said that the introduction of a tourism tax or levy could be a way to achieve this, noting that there was no legislative provision to do this yet. There was however a national discussion on the issue.

Jeremy Mogford said that a tourism tax would need to be applied fairly across all per night bed spaces in the City. This included hotels, the colleges, AirBnB and other commercial short stay facilities. He was concerned that this would otherwise only affect hoteliers, and would distort the market unfairly. More support would be given by the hotel sector if it was applied in this way. He said that there should be a clear link of how the money was reinvested by the Council in the City.

Councillor Harris said that an exemption may be appropriate for students for example, who are more likely to be deterred by a small tax for financial reasons. Noting that some members of the review group had links with colleges in the City, it was suggested that colleges could retain an exempt status on the basis that they reinvest in education, and have a charitable status. Jeremy disagreed with this position, stating that the colleges are increasingly operating in a commercial manner, and compete with the hotel industry to sell rooms. They were also exempt from business tax on similar charitable grounds. Councillor Wolff said that for a tax to work and be welcome, people needed to know where their money was being invested. Reverend William Lamb said there would need to be a way of distinguishing academic from purely commercial use bed spaces.

There was a general view that if a tax was introduced, there would need to be equity in the process, and this may mean multiple forms of tax. It was noted that a bed tax would only apply to overnight visitors, and day visitors would be exempt from this. Therefore, a tax through coaches entering the City may be an option also, such as through the Zero Emission Zone. Felicity highlighted that because transport links were very good, people did not need to stay overnight to take in all of the sights.