It’s easy to get people to come to Oxford during fall home football games and events such as the Double Decker Arts Festival.

However, tourism is important to Oxford all year long. To celebrate National Travel and Tourism Week, Visit Oxford will be holding several events next week to help educate the community on the importance of tourism and promotion of Oxford.

“We are excited to highlight our town this year and share the love of Oxford with anyone who visits us with various events throughout the week,” said Jessica Lynch, partnerships manager for Visit Oxford.

This is the 35th annual National Travel and Tourism Week, which was established to unite communities across the country to celebrate what travel means to jobs, economic growth and personal well-being.

“We are celebrating what travel means to our community by focusing on this important industry to support our economy,” Lynch said.

Throughout the week, the Oxford-Lafayette County Chamber of Commerce and Economic Development Foundation is offering 15-percent discount cards that can be used at participating merchants during the week. The cards are available at the Chamber of Commerce and Visit Oxford offices.

On Tuesday, Visit Oxford is asking all residents to wear red “For the Love of Oxford,” and to post photos with the hashtag #VisitOxfordMS while donning their red outfits.

At 5 p.m. Tuesday, Kaitlyn Sage Patterson will be signing her book, “The Diminished” at Off Square Books.

Visit Oxford is also encouraging citizens to dine out at their favorite restaurant and post photos using the #VisitOxfordMS tag. Participants will be entered to win a prize from Visit Oxford.

On Wednesday, Visit Oxford will be educating the public on the benefits of tourism.

Oxford collected more than $3 million from the food/beverage tax and $449,000 from the hotel/motel tax in 2017. The estimated travel and tourism expenditures by visitors were $174 million.

More than 2,200 jobs in Oxford-Lafayette County are directly related to the travel and tourism industry.

“In 2017, households in Lafayette County saw a tax relief of $818 each because of travelers spending in Oxford,” Lynch said. “This was up 9.3 percent from 2016.”

From 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, enjoy live music by Jesse and Kelley Pinion on the Lafayette County Courthouse Lawn.

The week will conclude Friday with Visit Oxford and RebelWell hosting a free Yoga in the Gallery class at the University of Mississippi Museum at 8:30 a.m. A free walking tour of downtown Oxford will leave from the Visit Oxford Welcome Center on the Square at 3 p.m.

Double-decker bus tours will be held at 2 and 3 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children.

For more information about events for the National Travel and Tourism Week, or to purchase tickets for the double-decker bus tours, call 662-232-2477 or stop by Visit Oxford on the Square.