Oxford city centre sees rise in footfall during Rediscover Oxford campaign

From the week of August 3, before our Rediscover Oxford campaign launched, to its final seven days up to September 20, visitor numbers in the city soared from 329,534 to 413,078.

More significantly, while footfall in Oxford was more than 14 per cent down on the UK average at the start of the campaign, the gap was less than two per cent by the end.

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Traders will be extra thankful for the improvement after coronavirus restrictions were tightened again last week, following a surge in cases.

Councillor Mary Clarkson, cabinet member for the city centre, said the campaign had brought out some inspirational stories.

She said: "The Rediscover Oxford campaign has been a great success, not only in bringing more people back into the city centre but in increasing the sense of pride and affection which many of us have for Oxford.

"Given that so much of our economy is dependent upon our tourist trade and our two universities, the figures are relatively good.

"I am cautiously optimistic that the return of the University of Oxford will give the city centre a further boost."

However the councillor also issued a stern warning: "It is essential that both locals and students follow the Government guidelines so that our economy can continue to recover.

"Further restrictions at this delicate time would be terrible for our businesses."

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In the week commencing August 3, before our campaign launched, footfall in Oxford was down 54.6 per cent year-on-year – compared to a 40.2 per cent drop across the UK.

By the time Rediscover Oxford ended on September 19, visitor numbers were only down 35.3 per cent and were almost level with the nationwide figure of 33.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 Oxford residents took a free tour on a City Sightseeing Bus, which we promoted as part of the campaign.

People in Oxfordshire were encouraged to take advantage of a drop in tourism, boosting businesses such as Covered Market gelateria iScream.

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Co-owner Graham MacDonald said: "Some of that was down to the good weather, which is particularly good for us.

"I was very nervous about the face masks, but I think that gave some people a renewed confidence.

"Some people might also have been taking advantage of the current freedoms.

"It's a number of factors, but I think the campaign has been brilliant and it's brought a lot of local people in."

He said: "One of the great things about the city is it's smack bang in the middle of southern England.

"A lot of people are doing staycations and stopping in Oxford for a day or two."

As Mrs Clarkson mentioned, many city centre businesses will hope for more good news over the coming weeks as students return.

The Oxford University term begins on Sunday, October 11, while the Oxford Brookes semester has already started.

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The Vaults and Garden cafe in Radcliffe Square has seen weekend visitor numbers return to 70 per cent of normal levels, which has been crucial for owner William Pouget.

He said: "It's like coming up for air.

"It's great that we've had that opportunity to stabilise and hopefully it'll be enough to tide us over the winter fallow period."

Mr Pouget is uncertain whether the cafe will be as popular as usual with students this year and is thinking of closing for up to six weeks at Christmas to safeguard the business.

He said: "There's definitely a substantial increase at weekends, but midweek we're really struggling.

"We're the sort of place people come as a small group and I think people are questioning meeting up in those numbers.

"It's nice to have the students back, as it enhances the ambience and our service team enjoy the more relaxed attitude that students enjoy.

"We aren't as hopeful as we were, but we're really looking forward to them coming back."

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Many pubs, cafes and restaurants benefitted from the government's Eat Out to Help Out scheme, which gave diners discounted meals throughout August.

Some Oxfordshire businesses have continued to run the offer, while chancellor Rishi Sunak announced continued tax breaks for the hospitality and tourism sectors in this week's winter economy plan.

This made a real difference for independent traders and Rosie Jacobs, co-founder of Independent Oxford, wants that support to continue.

She said: "Some traders did better than last year as we're a university city, so August can be a quiet month anyway.

"More exposure for businesses definitely helped and the community really got behind them.

"That's the resounding message we got from our members and it's about keeping that support going."