Oxford Visitor Information Centre wins Top Tourism Award
Oxford’s Visitor Information Centre has been named Information Service of the Year at last night’s Beautiful South Awards for Excellence which were held at the Grand Hotel Brighton, while Experience Oxfordshire’s ‘Oxford Official Walking Tours’ was awarded Highly Commended status for Guided Tour of the Year. The awards recognise and celebrate excellence in the tourism sector and inspire other businesses to reinvest and raise standards in quality, innovation and customer service.
Speaking on behalf of Experience Oxfordshire Vanessa Allen, Customer Services Development Manager said:
“We were thrilled to be finalists in the Beautiful South Awards for the third year running. After winning Silver last year and Bronze the year before, we’re delighted now to have been awarded the Gold award and be named Information Service of the Year. We are very proud of our team who go the extra mile to help visitors and ensure the services we provide are of such a high quality. We enjoy helping people to make the most of their stays here, exploring the great attractions that Oxford and Oxfordshire have to offer.”
Hayley Beer-Gamage, Chief Executive of Experience Oxfordshire commented:
“The Oxford Visitor Information Centre plays a pivotal role supporting visitors on their arrival to Oxfordshire. Our award-winning team advise and inspire visitors to explore and experience what the City and County has to offer. The Visitor Information Centre welcomes nearly half a million visitors each year and the team do a great job promoting the County as a must-see visitor destination. Everyone at Experience Oxfordshire is extremely proud that the Oxford Visitor Information Centre has been recognised for the excellent service it provides to our visitors. We are also delighted to see our Oxford Official Walking Tours programme recognised in this way as it’s testament to the product development that we have been undertaking in this area to give great visitor experiences.”
In a great night for the county, Oxfordshire Businesses scooped the following awards:
Fairytale Farm Highly Commended for the Access and Inclusivity Award
Oxford Castle & Prison Silver for the Guided Tour of the Year Award
Waddesdon Manor Gold for the International/Inbound Visitor Experience of the Year Award
Blenheim Palace Silver for the International/Inbound Visitor Experience of the Year Award
Waddesdon Manor Highly Commended for the Large Visitor Attraction of the Year Award
Blenheim Palace Gold for the Responsible, Ethical and Sustainable Tourism Award
The Chestnuts Eco-Chic Cottages Bronze for Responsible, Ethical and Sustainable Tourism Award
***ENDS***
For more information contact:
Antonio Ferrara
Phone: 01865 686433
Email: Antonio.ferrara@experienceoxfordshire.org / press@experienceoxfordshire.org
Experience Oxfordshire is the Destination Management Organisation (DMO) for Oxfordshire. We are a not-for-profit partnership organisation committed to the promotion, management and development of Oxfordshire as a great destination to live, work, visit and do business. We have a growing partnership network of businesses spanning all parts of the visitor economy, and through effective collaboration we are all working to ensure Oxfordshire becomes a leading destination for tourism, culture and business.
www.experienceoxfordshire.org/partner
Oxford Official Walking Tours
Our tours are a fun and informative way to learn about Oxford’s history, visit the University of Oxford, and explore the filming locations used in Harry Potter and Inspector Morse, Lewis and Endeavour. All Oxford Official Walking Tours are led by professionally trained green and blue badge guides.
Oxford’s Visitor Information Centre is based on historic Broad Street, and welcomes over nearly half a million visitors through its doors each year from both domestic and international markets. It provides many services for visitors, including information provision, left luggage, tickets sales for attractions, tours and events, accommodation booking, and sale of maps, guidebooks and gifts. The centre also provides services for conference visitors to Oxford, and offers training on information provision to Oxfordshire businesses.
The Beautiful South Awards for Excellence
Tourism South East work with Services for Tourism to deliver the Beautiful South Awards for Excellence 2018. The Beautiful South Awards are a reminder of the amazing wealth of fantastic tourism businesses and experiences that the South East of England has to offer.
www.beautifulsouthawards.co.uk
Photo Credits: All photos courtesy of Experience Oxfordshire.
Link to hi-res photos: EO Press Folder
