Holland Reports 11 Percent Increase in Visitors in 2010
Holland Reports 11 Percent Increase in Visitors in 2010
In Holland, the number of foreign visitors for both business and holiday purposes in 2010 grew 11 percent when compared with 2009. That 2010 proved to be another record year is “a result of the recovery in the global economy,” said Jos Vranken, director of the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions (NBTC), based in the Netherlands. The increase in the number of flying routes as well as an intensified marketing campaign also contributed to the growth, he added.
The NBTC expects a further growth in 2011 and has chosen “Dutch DNA” as its promotion theme for this year. The idea is to attract more people from the world of fashion, design and architecture to come to the Netherlands and show them “what makes Holland unique.” An earlier theme, “Dutch Art Cities,” with its wide-reaching appeal, proved extremely successful.
The growth figures for tourism reveal that the Netherlands was popular with the traditionally loyal visitors from Germany, Great Britain and Belgium as well as holiday-makers from North and South America and Asia. In 2010, the number of visitors from Germany was 2.9 million, an increase of 5 percent on 2009.
Great Britain accounted for 1.6 million tourists, up by 11 percent on the previous year, while 9 percent more Belgians chose to visit their neighbors in 2010, 1.3 million in total. The Netherlands attracted no less than 20 percent more people from the Americas and 14 percent from Asia.
