Tourism Oxford understands visitors want to reduce the impact of travel. It is the job of destinations and attractions to make this easier. We hope the following list will help you plan a more sustainable trip to Oxford County - helping preserve what makes this region special.
Filter website business listings based on their sustainability actions.
Have certifications (FeastON - serving local food, Rainbow Registered - 2SLGBTQIA+, B-Corp..)
EV parking
Offer refill services for some of their products (bring your travel mug and jars), or water bottle refill
Invested in biodiversity planting native species
and more
Eat Local
As your servers what on the menu is sourced from the region. If you want to go right to the source to fill your pantry at home explore www.Oxfordfresh.ca our one stop shop to find local farms, markets and specialty producers (coffee to craft beer).
Explore the Oxford County Cheese Trail. This trail has over 31 stops featuring local stories, products and flavours related to Oxford Counties cheese and dairy industry.
Park the Car
Use the map function on the website to quickly see attractions close to each other.
Go to our Getting Around page to discover alternative transportation options to and around Oxford County.
Why is it when people travel overseas they quite often are willing to walk much farther. When in a downtown district park the car and explore the region by foot!
When exploring nature:
If going to a natural area and the parking lot is full, help reduce congestion and choose another location or a different time of day to enjoy your hike or ride.
Stay on the trail, including keeping dogs on leash. This helps protect habitat for flora and fauna that call natural areas home.
Give wildlife space. If they are not moving, they could be protecting their young or they have a freeze response when scared. This is common with turtles laying their eggs. Report turtle nest locations to conservation authorities who gather and hatch eggs to help at risk species. Find the form here and details on how you can help turtles (e.g. cross the road)
Embrace our stories
Visit local museums, galleries and theatres to learn and support our cultural institutions.
Book a unique experience that lets you get hands on learning from locals passionate about their craft.
Our path to sustainability
Tourism Oxford is a GreenStep Certified Sustainable Tourism Destination. The certification process is based on a commitment to build capacity and knowledge around sustainability within the destination, to acquire a baseline measurement of performance, to set goals to improve this performance over time, and to fulfill clear objectives, through the implementation of a sustainability action plan. The assessment consists of 117 questions and several hundred answer options/potential actions that measures baseline sustainability performance in the following areas of sustainability: Management, Social & Economic, Cultural & Natural Interactions, and Environmental. The GreenStep Sustainable Tourism Destination Assessment is graded based on weighted answer options, which are used to calculate the overall score out of 261 total available points. Tourism Oxford scored 55% (silver level certification).
A few highlights of 2025 Actions so far include:
All Oxford County Cheese Trail stops were assessed and reviewed on AccessNow.com, This website informs consumers about how a business does or does not meet their accessibility needs. Having businesses on this site makes trip planning easier for individuals travelling that have accessibility needs.
Reducing Driving: Oxford Tourism's new website has improved transportation information, integrated maps and new Your Next Stop trip itineraries that promote attractions in close proximity to each other. Cycling is also promoted as an alternative transportation option via local cycling routes.
Supporting more sustainable tourism. This includes coaching businesses on: local sourcing, energy and water conservation,supporting the environment and reducing waste. When touring Oxford County you will find businesses offering refill services, waste free experiences, solar installations, ev charging centres and more.
Making informed decisions easier for visitors. Tourism Oxford is currently having businesses input their sustainability actions into this website so you can filter by sustainability amenities.
