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

 

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

b)      An optional hyperlinked background reading list

c)       A background report concerning tourism in Oxford.

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

e)      A public submission to the Review Group, first considered on 14 March

 

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

 

·       Tony Hart, Smart Oxford Programme Manager

·       Phil Southall, Oxford Bus Company

·       Helen Camuñas-Lopez, Christ Church College Visitor Manager

·       Tony Joyce, Oxford Civic Society

·       Juliet Blackburn, Chair of the Oxford Civic Society Transport Group

·       Tim Wiseman, Oxford City Council Waterways Coordinator

·       Dr Rebecca Hawkins, MD of the Responsible Hospitality Partnership

·       Dr Kate Mingjie Ji, Oxford School of Hospitality Management

 

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?

Tony Joyce, Oxford Civic Society, said that more needed to be done to manage issues such as coach congestion and overcrowding. There had been a lot of criticism in recent years about the bureaucracy surrounding the matter. One such example of challenges included the lack of coach drop off spaces near Christchurch College’s new visitor centre. In the short term, a permanent traffic warden was needed in St Giles to manage coaches, and significant improvements were needed to city centre toilets. This view was echoed by other guests.

 

Phil Southall, Managing Director of Oxford Bus Company, said the value brought to the City by coaches was significant, and that he was disappointed with the Council’s decision to phase out funding to Experience Oxfordshire over three years. This view was also expressed by Mike Naworynsky OBE, Chair of Conference Oxford. There was a question of how their funding would be picked up by other organisations, and the impact the reduction would have. Phil said that there was little revenue funding available for reinvestment back into tourism management. He also commented that comments made at the previous meeting concerning reviewing the use of the Gloucester Green site did not involve the views of experts in the industry.

 

Tourism Tax and Capturing Value

The Chair invited the meeting to put forward their views on the use of a tourism tax on bed spaces or coaches for example. A straw poll on the issue presented mixed views on its introduction. Mike Naworynsky explained that during the summer, the university colleges had approximately 7,000 rooms which were used mostly for academic purposes. He said that it would not be appropriate to introduce a tourism tax for those visiting for academic reasons, and gave the example of a travelling academic having to pay taxes every night at various destinations, if it were to be introduced nationally. He said the income generated helped to bridge the funding gap that the university was experiencing due to stagnant student fees. This income also helped the university to meets its academic and facility aspirations.

 

He said however that it was important to keep the pound in Oxford, and that generating revenue from visitors was important for tourism to be sustainable. There were strong cases for a levy, but this would need to be weighed against the possibility of it dissuading people from coming to the City. Responding to comments, he said that approximately 30 colleges were open to the public at certain times, 20 of which were free, and the others asking a nominal charge, with the exception of Christchurch.

 

Dr Rebecca Hawkins, Managing Director of the Responsible Hospitality Partnership, said it was important to look at the visitor economy as a whole, and identify where the greatest net benefit for the City was. For example, overnight visitors, which principally return much higher value than day visitors for local businesses. The Chair noted that visitor satisfaction and loyalty to Oxford were much lower than should be expected.

 

Juliet Blackburn, Chair of the Oxford Civic Society Transport Group, said the focus should be on maximising day visitor revenue generation, because of their short time in the City and relatively small spend. This was couched against another view of maximising overnight visits, and discouraging short term day visits.

 

Phil Southall said that the only way to tax coaches was through an emissions scheme. Most coach companies would be able to comply with most emission standards if a scheme was introduced, and therefore there would be minimal revenue generation. Most large tour operators ran euro 6 standard engines. Also, companies would find work arounds to such a scheme, such as in Europe, where coaches transfer to a fleet of cars to avoid the costs. This would have the opposite effect of increasing overall emissions in the City. To address the types of problems raised by Councillors and residents, there needed to be more enforcement to address nuisance drivers.

 

As raised at the previous meeting on 14 March, the meeting was broadly of the view that any additional revenue generated through a tourism tax would need to be ringfenced specifically for reinvestment into tourism management and public facilities. People needed to see where their money was going.

 

Dr Hawkins advised that Oxford was competing for visitors to other cities in Europe, and those visitors and the market as a whole was very sensitive to price.

 

Councillor Wolff raised an issue mentioned at the previous meeting, concerning the lack of vision for the City in terms of its visitor economy and tourism. This perspective resonated with guests, and the Chair said that from his position, the Council should be welcoming to all people to enjoy the City. However, there was a sense from the guests that a view should be taken on which visitors are preferable from a revenue perspective.

 

Dr Kate Mingjie Ji, Oxford School of Hospitality Management, said that most large groups entering the City by coach were part of package tours and language student groups. She said these groups are not particularly receptive to advice or change, given the business success they were having. They did not want to break existing relationships and timetables with current attractions in the City. Often, agents would prepare a tour several years in advance, and offer highly competitive prices. Dr Hawkins reiterated the need for the Council to distinguish which types of tourists it wanted to encourage and discourage. Dr Kate Mingjie Ji said Oxford was very well known in China because of the University, and that there were very few return visitors from international destinations.

 

Helen Camuñas-Lopez, Christ Church College Visitor Manager, added that there had been a significant increase in visitors from Asia, but they were not necessarily in large groups. The larger groups tended to be language students, and the busiest periods were from 1 July to 14 August, and between 11-12am and 2-3pm. The groups are often visiting multiple locations in one day, and Christchurch tends to run at capacity during these periods.

 

Mike Naworynsky highlighted that the University was keen to encourage international visits in line with its worldwide reputation. There were prospective students from Asia who wished to visit before taking up a university place also. He said that feedback from visitors concerned the condition of public toilets and the wider public realm, and there were also concerns over rough sleeping, and how that reflected on the City. He said that language schools using college accommodation had typically occupied their halls for four weeks, but this was becoming more frequently two weeks. Any tourism tax would need to be administered in a simple and efficient way, as not to create a burden on accommodation providers.

 

The meeting distinguished that day visitors do not provide value to the City in the same way as overnight visitors, and day visitors tended to be more associated with some of the nuisance issues identified. Councillor Fry suggested that the souvenir shops may be the only businesses particularly benefiting from very short stay visitors.

 

The Chair said that it was difficult for visitors to know which colleges were open and which were closed. Mike said the colleges did not agree with the view that they are perceived as often closed or not accessible. There was however a balance to be struck to ensure that each college retains its focus on academic progress, whist welcoming people to enjoy the cultural aspects of visiting.

 

The meeting heard that it was difficult for the various colleges to align their opening times, because they are run as separate entities, and each had variable academic and tourism demands. It was noted that a few colleges were receiving very significant numbers of visitors during the summer months. It was clarified that the colleges are often perceived as publicly funded bodies incorrectly, and people can overstate their entitlement to access the facilities.

 

Wayfinding

 

Tony Hart, Smart Oxford Programme Manager, explained that people were not well informed about walking routes and the location of attractions, and there was room to improve. With a small investment, signage and maps could be brought up to date and made fit for purpose; a view which several guests supported. For example, maps do not feature the new Westgate Centre.

 

Tony said there were opportunities to develop an app for the City, but this would require resources and funding, together with good coordination. There was a clear gap in the market for a central repository of data to support movement in the City for visitors. The view was also expressed that better signage links could be made from the Westgate to the Covered Market.

 

It was noted that encouraging people to make independent decisions on self-guided tours could promote longer stays, and help disperse crowds. Tony added that a recent Oxford graduate had developed an app called sociability, which looked to identify the accessibility of local attractions and venues. The Review Group were advised to make representations to some phone companies who offer poor coverage in the City.

 

Tim Wiseman, Waterways Coordinator, explained that the waterways often go overlooked in regards to the tourism offer. These were the gateways to the City and an asset that could be better utilised. Boat visitors (approximately 21,000 per year) also tended to stay for several nights, and add significantly to the visitor economy. There was however some issues for the waterways, as they were seen as a challenging place to navigate.

 

Dr Hawkins said that some European cities were being innovative with digital aids. For example, Amsterdam had an app which showed how long the expected waiting times were to enter key attractions. A better understanding of peak hours may help disperse people across a wider range of opening hours. She also highlighted new approaches, such as the end of tourism, and the beginning of localhood, approach in Copenhagen. This involves building a sense of localhood between residents and visitors, and steering away from formal destination management. She suggested that the Council should not seek to reinvest the wheel in relation to digital wayfinding, as google and other platforms already offer real time and high quality maps data.

 

Phil Southall invited the meeting to attend the launch of the Oxford Pass on 3 April for a one year pilot, which would provide significant discounts to ten attractions in the region, but it would not include the colleges. In response to a question about why the colleges did not sign up to the card, Mike explained that the majority of the colleges were free, and any charges were nominal. The Card would be more beneficial for attractions with higher fees. Helen added that Christchurch was already at visitor capacity, so there was not any incentive to join in with the pass in this regard.

 

Coaches

 

Phil Southall explained that people visiting on package tours often came as part of 14hr coach trips starting in London, which also visit places such as Stratford-On-Avon, Bath and the Cotswolds. There was consequently a rush to see all the sights, which was affected further by congestion and other delays. As Oxford was often the last stop on the way back to London, this time slot tended to be squeezed, meaning tours were rushed.

 

The unique selling point of these tours was that they were competitively priced, and offered visitors the opportunity to see a number of key sights in the South of England in one day. He said 75% of tourists leaving London however use the east coast railway line, to visit cities such as York and Durham. Phil Southall explained that the Confederation of Passenger Transport had devised seven criteria for towns and cities gaining a coach friendly status. These are set out below:

 

1. There must be evidence that the Destination welcomes coaches and consults with local bodies and the industry on their strategy for integrating group tourism into local plans

2. Clear directional instructions and signs for visiting coaches. This may include special measures for access to city/town centre (use of bus lanes etc.)

 

3. Adequate capacity for coach parking, drop off & pick up points which are well signposted

 

4. Proximity of coach facilities (parking and drop off & pick up points) to visitor attractions and hotels

 

5. Driver facilities including provision to rest and for refreshments

 

6. Adequate facilities for group comfort (toilets, refreshments, waiting areas etc.)

 

7. A named representative(s) at the Local Authority/Destination who can be contacted or on hand to help with questions or requirements; and provide information packs in advance.

 

He said he was not sure if Oxford could meet any of these criteria. He said that whilst it may seem challenging to meet these criteria, some other similar cities had gained this status including Salisbury, Stratford-on-Avon and Coventry. He said that oxford needed to communicate better with the Coach industry about what facilities are on offer, road works and advice on parking and drop off. This could be done through the Confederation of Passenger Transport’s weekly newsletter, for example.

 

Coach companies and drivers were much more likely to comply with local authority advice on pick up and drop off if the information was communicated clearly, and appropriate enforcement was in place to deter offences. Phil set out the official drop off locations listed on the Council’s website. These were:

 

· St Aldates South (northbound) - just south of the Combined Court

· Beaumont Street (westbound) - just outside the Playhouse

· St Giles' (northbound) - in the lay-by by the Taylorian

 

He said the official advice is limited and not helping the situation. Speedwell Street could be developed to have better coach drop off facilities, and a greater recognition of the need for coach facilities should be listed in the Local Plan. Responding to questions, he said a coach parking fee is standard practice in the industry, and expected.

 

However, coach drivers want good facilities, which would incentivise them to park up. Redbridge was sub-optimal. In the summer and winter, drivers prefer to stay in their cabs to make use of the air conditioning and heating respectively, which often means leaving the engine running. Compulsory breaks every 4.5 hours are also a factor in coach parking habits. A traffic regulation order that requires move on within ten minutes may be a viable option, as it is used in London.

 

In response to questions from the Chair, Phil said that coaches could be encouraged to use Oxford Bus Company’s depot in Cowley, if the communication was right. Other guests agreed that communication to the industry needed to improve.

 

The Chair highlighted that major developments in the pipeline in the West End of Oxford, such as Oxpens and the railway station, provide ideal opportunities to rethink how coaches can better access the City. Dr Hawkins highlighted that demands on the domestic public transport system are only going to increase, and this should be factored in also.

 

Councillor Wolff suggested that the use of 12-15 seater electric vehicles using quieter roads in Oxford may help to alleviate some of the issues raised. This could provide an income for the City also.