Experience Oxfordshire has launched a new digital campaign #DreamOxfordshire to support the county’s visitor economy through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Oxfordshire’s tourism industry bring £2.3 billion annually to the region, providing 40,000 local jobs and boosting economic growth. However, the pandemic has caused huge disruption to Oxfordshire’s visitor economy, with 86% of businesses reporting a revenue drop of greater than 50%, according to county-wide research undertaken by Experience Oxfordshire.
Designed to encourage positive actions, the new #DreamOxfordshire campaign aims to support local businesses and invite potential visitors to dream of visiting the destination in the future.
The campaign targets a wide demographic of potential visitors to Oxfordshire, including local residents and both domestic and international visitors, and encourages them to look forward to exploring the county when social distancing regulations are lifted.
The campaign invites those further afield to discover a range of Oxfordshire activities virtually, plan their future visit using digital resources, or buy a voucher or gift card for the future. Previous visitors to Oxfordshire area also urged to leave good reviews to boost support for the businesses that have made their trips special and book ahead for their next visit. In addition, local residents are also being encouraged to support and buy from local businesses to help keep them afloat.
Commenting on the campaign, Chief Executive Hayley Beer-Gamage said, “Experience Oxfordshire’s new #DreamOxfordshire campaign is focused on highlighting Oxfordshire as a world-class visitor destination to local and global visitors, while simultaneously supporting Oxfordshire’s tourism businesses through these uncertain times.
“The campaign is just one of the many actions Experience Oxfordshire is undertaking behind the scenes to support our valuable visitor economy at this extraordinary time, but is also a great way of keeping up with what Experience Oxfordshire is doing via social media. The digital campaign means that we can keep adding new content and adapt to changing circumstances, gearing more towards promoting travel to Oxfordshire when destinations and travel open back up again.
“We would like to encourage all visitor economy businesses across Oxfordshire to use #DreamOxfordshire in their online communication so we can raise our destination profile, digital footprint and consumer management at this time with the aim of aiding recovery post COVID-19.”
