City tourist office to be moved

From the archive, first published Thursday 5th Apr 2001.

Visitors to Oxford are to benefit from a new tourist information centre. Tourism is worth £250m a year to the city and the expansion is a key part of the industry's development locally.

Research has revealed that the tourist information centre in Gloucester Green is hard to find, so tourism managers have decided to move the office to Broad Street.

This is closer to many of the city's historic attractions, including the Bodleian Library and Radcliffe Square.

The decision should provide a boost for traders who claim that their businesses have been harmed by the Oxford Transport Strategy, which stopped short-stay parking.

The centre, which provides help, advice and booking services to visitors and local people, will move early next year.

Tourism manager Jan Hull said: "Enhancing visitors' experience of Oxford is a key part of the city council's tourism strategy and this new accessible location will enable us to develop new services.

"We will be making more use of the Internet and taking online advance bookings. This means we can provide more support for Oxford's many tourism businesses as well as those in the surrounding countryside."

Cllr Elise Benjamin, chairman of the economic development committee, said: "This is a very exciting project that will not only provide an improved service to visitors and residents, but will also benefit the many small shops in the Broad Street area."