London Oxford airport is perfect for 2012 games (From thisisoxfordshire)

London Oxford airport is perfect for 2012 games

4:23pm Friday 28th August 2009 in

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BUSINESS leaders have welcomed a controversial decision to rename Oxford airport ‘London Oxford’.

They believe it could help the region capitalise on the 2012 Olympics in London as well as aiding recovery from the recession.

However, the airport’s decision was mocked by bosses at P&O Ferries who have jokingly suggested renaming Dover to Paris Dover Port.

Stefan Wynne-Jones, chairman of the Oxford Association of Hotels and Guest Houses, backed the iarport rebranding. He said: “It’s a great idea and with the Olympics coming to London in 2012 this is the perfect time to be doing this.

“London is going to be jam-packed, the hotels are all going to be full and a lot of tourists don’t know how close Oxford is to London.

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather stay an hour and 20 minutes away from London.”

Mr Wynne-Jones, who runs Tilbury Lodge guesthouse in Botley, added: “This is just like casting a long line into the river and catching those fish further away.”

The airport in Kidlington – formerly RAF Kidlington – was renamed two weeks ago in an attempt to boost business aviation through the terminal by 50 per cent.

It is the ninth airport in England to take a London designation despite the fact it is 59 miles away from Marble Arch in central London.

Barry Wheatley, chairman of the Oxfordshire branch of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “It’s a sound decision. Anything that is going to stimulate the growth of the airport is going to be good for local businesses. There are lots of small businesses around the airport which depend on it and not just the companies that fly out of there, but the businesses that provide services to those companies.

“This will appeal to small businesses with international customers.

“In this economic climate those businesses that can do things to differentiate themselves from others stand a greater chance of growing.

“The Thames Valley is home to the headquarters of many international hi-tech companies.

“If you fly into London Oxford you’re closer to many of them than if you fly into Heathrow.”

Bosses at the Oxfordshire Golf Club, which is opening a £6 m,illion, 50-bed four-star hotel in May next year, are hopeful of renting rooms to high-flying businessmen.

General manager Tim Pettifer said: “Oxford can stand up next to London and give people two reasons to choose the airport. It is a huge lure.

“This could also help us to secure more major golf competitions.”

P&O spokesman Brian Rees said: “The imagination applied to airport names is pure genius.

“Perhaps we should be saying welcome to Paris Dover.”

However, airport spokesman James Dillon Godfray countered: “It was controversial but it’s been done now and, in terms of creating awareness of the existence of the airport to a worldwide audience, it’s achieved its objective.”

cwalker@oxfordmail.co.uk