Experience Oxfordshire survey shows the county ranks highly with its visitors

22 July 2025 – At the start of the summer holiday season the results of a recent survey carried out by Experience Oxfordshire, the destination management organisation and official local visitor economy partnership, offer a positive endorsement of Oxfordshire and local businesses engaged with the visitor economy.

Insights received from visitors based beyond the county show that 91% of respondents find Oxfordshire appealing as a destination with 85% likely to recommend Oxfordshire as a destination to visit. 60% of respondents rated their overall experience of Oxfordshire excellent, with 65% rating the cultural scene equally highly and 64% experiencing an excellent feeling of safety.

Oxfordshire’s top attributes, according to respondents are its history (identified by 81%), its museums and galleries (79%), the county’s heritage (52%), its attractive countryside (41%) and its arts and culture scene (32%).

46% of respondents said they visit several times during a year with 53% visiting during the last six months. The top three reasons for choosing Oxfordshire over another UK destination for their last trip were its history and heritage (43%) and the variety of experiences on offer (32%). 39% of respondents were returning visitors, basing their decision on past experience.

During their last trip, 61% had visited cafes, pubs and restaurants, 52% had attended a visitor attraction (inc. heritage properties and museums), 52% went sightseeing and exploring and 33% enjoyed an arts and cultural experience. Of the respondents completing the survey the most frequently visited destination in the county was Oxford, with the market towns of Abingdon, Henley, Woodstock, Bicester, Banbury, Burford, Witney, Chipping Norton and Thame all receiving a notable number of visits.

The results also show that lead in times for booking accommodation continues to be reduced with 24% booking within three months of travel and 39% within a month of travel, this aligns with the results of the Experience Oxfordshire business survey which took place earlier in the year.

When asked about the impact of the cost of living on their holiday choices, 32% of respondents are expecting no impact, 24% are looking for more free things to do, 20% are cutting back on spending money during a trip and 20% are spending less when eating out. With regard to spend on leisure, 48% of respondents are expecting to spend the same as they have previously, 11% are expecting to spend more and 33% less.

Hayley Beer-Gamage, CEO of Experience Oxfordshire, commenting on the results said: “These insights are extremely valuable to work that we undertake and ensure that we are monitoring consumer perception. Our respondents show there is a keen interest in Oxfordshire and that visitors enjoy being in the county. It is particularly pleasing to see that 93% of them said they felt welcome during their visit. This is such an important element of the visitor experience and one that Experience Oxfordshire has focussed on over the last 18 months by creating The Oxfordshire Welcome initiative. It was also pleasing to see that a large proportion of visitors prioritised buying local during their stay and supporting local businesses.

In Oxfordshire our sector works hard to deliver excellent experiences to visitors from across the world and it is extremely encouraging to read these positive perceptions of the county and our visitor economy businesses from the people we most want to influence. With 96% of respondents stating that they are likely to visit Oxfordshire again, this is good news as we go into the summer season.”

76% of respondents to the survey were domestic visitors outside of Oxfordshire with the largest proportion of international respondents coming from across Europe, North America and Oceania, source markets where Experience Oxfordshire has committed resource to travel trade missions.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

A summary of the survey findings can be found here.

An infographic of some of the survey findings can be found here.

Images available via the following link.

About Experience Oxfordshire

Experience Oxfordshire is the official Destination Management Organisation (DMO) and Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) for Oxfordshire. It is the trading arm of the parent charity, Experience Oxfordshire Charitable Trust, and is a not-for-profit partnership organisation that is committed to the promotion, management, and development of Oxfordshire as a great destination to live, work, visit and do business. The DMO seeks to improve growth and productivity across Oxfordshire’s visitor economy through the provision of essential business advice and support.

Experience Oxfordshire was one of the first destinations in England to gain LVEP status from national tourist board, VisitEngland. As an LVEP, Experience Oxfordshire is recognised as a high-performing organisation, supporting collaborative working both locally, through its network of partners and those with interest in the visitor economy, and nationally on shared priorities.

Read our Experience Oxfordshire Impact 2024/25 publication here which showcases the impact and reach of the work that Experience Oxfordshire undertakes.

For more information on Experience Oxfordshire go to experienceoxfordshire.org/partner or contact [email protected]

For more information on The Oxfordshire Welcome go to experienceoxfordshire.org/experience-the-oxfordshire-welcome

To work with Experience Oxfordshire on marketing campaigns, contact [email protected]

To find out more about Experience Oxfordshire organised events go to the 2025 events calendar Experience Oxfordshire events – Experience Oxfordshire

Media contact: Lesley Wright / [email protected] / 01865 686433

You can keep up to date with Experience Oxfordshire’s activity by following:

Facebook – Experience Oxfordshire
Instagram – @experienceoxfordshire
X – @ExperienceOx and @ExperienceOxBiz and @ExOxVenues
Bluesky – @experienceox
LinkedIn – Experience Oxfordshire