We might not be able to travel too far at the moment but what a great opportunity to visit all the places we don’t get to explore nearer home.

The UK tourist economy accounts for £127 Billion and employs three million people in the UK, which is almost one in ten people. This accounts for 9 per cent of the country’s GDP, so it makes sense that we “The Great British Public” support them fully by exploiting the benefits of our amazing cities, dales and coastline.

I was therefore only too happy to do my bit for the economy and I spent the weekend in Oxford at the Old Bank Hotel. It was a great base for a mini break, located in the centre of this historic city. Independently owned, the 5 star hotel, has 43 elegant and contemporary designed bedrooms and achieves a further point of difference with its collection of eclectic modern art by some of the country’s best young talent. The restaurant “Quod”  is part of the hotel and was superb and with a great onyx bar, we really didn’t need to go far on Friday night.

We spent the day shopping till we dropped on Saturday, a quick trip to Bicester Village and Westgate, both of which were busy, it was refreshing to see lots of domestic shoppers out and spending money.

Whilst there are predictions that it might take international tourism a year or two to return to pre-crisis levels, local tourism will be more important than ever in supporting our hospitality industries. So with half term approaching for many, let’s think about supporting our hotels, bars and restaurants, gardens, zoo and safari parks. There are some great places to discover all on our doorstep.”