City Sightseeing Oxford increased tours as the city celebrates English Tourism Week

To mark English Tourism Week, it has announced City Sightseeing Oxford, which provides open-top bus tours of the city, will increase its services from April 1^st. The popular tour service will operate every 20 minutes between Monday and Thursday and every 15 minutes Friday to Sunday. It offers audio guides in 14 languages (with live guides on selected tours) and takes in the city’s famous sights including Oxford Castle, Christ Church College, Magdalen Bridge, Sheldonian Theatre and the Ashmolean Theatre.

Oxford Bus Company is also re-introducing its combo-tickets which combines bus and coach travel with entry to Oxfordshire’s top tourist attractions. This year the theme of VisitBritain’s English Tourism Week is ‘you’re welcome’ and Oxford Bus Company’s Visitor Information Point in the High Street serves as a central hub for tourists to seek assistance. It provides access to information, timetables, souvenirs, maps, travel and attractions combo tickets and advice to get the best out of their visit.

The Park&Ride service provides access to Oxford City for people who need to travel by car and the City and inter-urban bus network provides tourists with further connectivity to attractions around the city and county. The Airline service also connects Oxford to Heathrow and Gatwick Airports.

In Oxford the visitor economy is critical to both the city and county. Pre-pandemic it was booming and according to a recent Experience Oxfordshire report tourism generated about £998m for the city’s economy and accounted for some 17,000 jobs in Oxford.

Phil Southall, Oxford Bus Company Managing Director said: “Oxfordshire is an attractive destination and we remain committed to providing a world-class welcome to our visitors. English Tourism Week is a chance to celebrate everything Oxfordshire has to offer and is a big opportunity this year as it comes at a time when the visitor economy looks to bounce back.

“Our visitor information point is a vital part of Oxfordshire’s tourism offering and helps ensure visitors get the most out of their time in the county. While our open-top bus tours remain a wonderful way to visit the city. We believe partnerships will help Oxford’s tourism industry recover and we’re proud to have created numerous packages with key stakeholders to deliver great value for visitors.”