Tourism is growing in importance in Oxford

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

Tourism is growing in importance in Oxford County and supports a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises.

“It helps us diversify our economy, particularly when other areas are facing challenges,” said Meredith Maywood, Oxford County’s tourism manager, during an update to Tillsonburg council.

In addition, she said tourism puts a value on a municipality’s cultural assets and instills pride in the community.

Tourism grew in the county last year by 15 per cent, with 1.3 million visitors to Oxford County. The majority of the growth was from Canadian residents.

“Canadians love novel, unique activities; they love to spend time with family,” Maywood said.

To that end, the county is promoting Tour Oxford, Oxford Fresh, and the Oxford County Cheese Trail. The county tourism department’s 2025 marketing focused on ensuring local residents were aware of the tourism experiences available in their backyards.

The tourism department’s plans for 2026 are to capitalize on genealogy tourism by highlighting opportunities to discover roots and handcrafted routes that showcase the county’s many artists and crafters. In Tillsonburg, both the Station Arts Centre and Annandale House are part of this.

Deputy Mayor Dave Beres, a board member of the Rural Ontario Municipal Association (ROMA), complimented Maywood, saying she is being modest and did a wonderful job of arranging a ROMA tour of Oxford.

“They’re being hosted in Oxford County, they’re going to eat in Oxford County, they’re going to see innovative things in Oxford County, such as things they don’t have in their home area,” he said, citing some of the dairy attractions and a walking tour of downtown Tillsonburg as examples. “It’s something that has to be shown off, and it’s going to be shown off.”

Council accepted the report for information.