Scrutiny Committee, at its meeting on 04 July 2023, requested a Tourism Review Group Update report. Cllr Susan Brown, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Inclusive Economy and Partnerships and Ted Maxwell, City Centre and Green Transport Lead have been invited to present the report and answer questions. The Committee is asked to note and comment on the report.

Cllr Susan Brown, Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Inclusive Economy and Partnerships introduced the report which updated the Scrutiny Committee on progress regarding Tourism Management since 2021. She highlighted the impact on tourism in the city since the COVID-19 pandemic and a previous report to the Scrutiny Committee on 08 September 2021 provided some narrative around this. Whilst the number of visits to the city was not back up to pre-pandemic levels, the numbers of domestic visitors to the city had increased, however there were no figures yet available for 2023.

Cllr Brown highlighted the progress made on tourism as part of the Oxfordshire Economic Recovery and Renewal Framework, Oxford Economic Strategy and City Centre Action Plan including work with key partners since the last update to the Scrutiny Committee and these were included in the report. She advised the Committee that the Council was no longer a Board Member of Experience Oxfordshire, following a decision made by Experience Oxfordshire.

Carolyn Ploszynski, Head of Regeneration & Economy advised of an error within Appendix 1 to the report; the ‘agree?’ column for recommendation 14 should state ‘yes’. She added that, since 2019, the Council had been in the process of facilitating two additional hotels within the city, which had not been included within the report.

During discussion, the Committee noted the following:

·       The Oxford Economic Strategy and City Centre Action Plan set out plans for further developing the city to make it more attractive to tourists, which included additional pedestrian areas and better signage.

·       Plans within the Oxford Economic Strategy and City Centre Action Plan would be facilitated by a city centre delivery group made up of key stakeholders including businesses, street specific business groups and key property holders in the city centre.

·       Direct city centre toilet provision was available through the Council at Market Street, Gloucester Green and the Town Hall. There were also facilities located at Westgate shopping centre; the owners of which had advised they were happy for these to be promoted with visitors. Carolyn Ploszynski said that she will ask whether an updated list of toilet provision available for public use could be provided to councillors to better direct visitors to the city.

·       Whilst it was recognised that there was an issue with coaches travelling into the city, this was primarily the responsibility of Oxfordshire County Council; the City Council had raised the issue with the County Council previously and would continue to do so. The City Council have earmarked £20,000 for a Coach Study which will be commissined with the county as part of the Central Oxfordshire and Movement Franework.

·       Oxfordshire Movement and Place Framework, a joint project led by the County Council, had been set up to seek to create a blueprint for public realm improvements in the city, which included a coach parking strategy.

·       The Council was actively exploring the implementation of a tourist tax for the city, which would be available for pre-scrutiny in the usual way.

·       The Council would continue discussions with businesses, including tourism businesses, in the city to ensure that they were encouraged to pay and sign-up to the Oxford Living Wage. Over the last four years, the number of Oxford Living Wage employers had risen from approximately 20 to over 100 businesses, but it was recognised that more could be done, especially through the use of the Inclusive Economic Partnership in communicating the message.

The Committee requested that the Scrutiny Officer add tourism to the longlist of suggestions for 2024/25 for consideration by the new Committee.

The Committee noted the report; there were no recommendations.

Carolyn Ploszynski, Head of Regeneration & Economy left the meeting and did not return.