Oxford’s Visitor Information Centre has been named Information Service of the Year at the Beautiful South Awards for Excellence, 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.”
Other Oxfordshire-based members taking home awards on the night included Blenheim Palace, who won Silver for International/Inbound Visitor Experience of the Year and Gold for the Responsible, Ethical and Sustainable Tourism Award; Waddesdon Manor, who won Silver for International/Inbound Visitor Experience of the Year and Highly Commended for Large Visitor Attraction of the year; and Continuum Attraction’s Oxford Castle and Prison, who won Silver for Guided Tour of the Year.
