Tourism brings significant income and jobs to Oxford
Released on Tuesday, July 30, 2024 at 12:00 p.m.
Oxford Tourism Director Kinney Ferris presents tourism statistics to Oxford City Council members at a recent budget meeting. Photo by Alyssa Schnugg
As a local government body, Visit Oxford’s job is to attract visitors to Oxford and collect tourist tax to help fund local projects.
Last week, executive director Kinney Ferris and sales and marketing director Nadia Thornton presented Oxford City Council with annual figures showing they have done just that.
City department heads are meeting with city council members to consider proposed budget plans for the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Oxford Convention and Visitors Bureau is asking the city for $607,000 for the budget, plus an additional $200,000 for the double-decker. Oxford Convention and Visitors Bureau also receives funding from the city’s hotel and motel tax.
“Before I ask you for money, I thought this would be a good opportunity to show you what tourism does for our city,” Ferris told council members with a laugh.
Tourists visiting Oxford in the 2022-2023 fiscal year (October 1 to September 30) are expected to spend a total of $208.5 million.
The visitor tax collected was $20.7 million, up from $16 million last year, which will directly impact households in Oxford, equating to a total savings of $782 per household.
Travel and tourism is one of the largest employment sectors in Oxford and Lafayette County, supporting more than 4,800 direct jobs and accounting for 27% of the community’s total employment.
Oxford’s biggest event, the Double Decker Arts Festival, saw visitors spend $16.3 million, with Oxford Visitors Office estimating that 100,300 people attended the event in April.
The Holly Jolly Holidays, held from November through January, attracted 10,000 skaters.
The upcoming Holly Jolly Holiday will take place in mTrade Park, where the City is building a permanent ice skating rink and a bespoke illuminated Walk of Lights display paying tribute to Oxford’s history, from the city’s famous double-decker buses to the city’s skyline.
