The Netherlands, or Holland as we popularly know it, recorded a strong 31 per cent growth in Indian arrival in 2017 over the previous year, thanks in part to NBTC’s (Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions) marketing and promotion initiatives in India as well as Jet Airways shifting its European hub from Brussels to Amsterdam in 2016. Holland has received over 67,000 Indian visitors in for the January-May period in 2018.
According to NBTC’s Global Travel Trade Manager, Carola Muller – van Rijn, Indian arrivals to Holland have gone up from about 127,000 visitors in 2016 to over 165,000 visitors in 2017 with an average stay of four nights. A record year in growth and arrivals, the overall room nights converts to an impressive 660,000 through Indian arrivals in 2017. “Some people might stay a little bit longer, others might stay for may be two days, but the average is about four nights,” she said.
Commenting on the remarkable growth, Muller informed that the NTO undertook a 360 degree approach that encompassed trade as well as the consumers. “We did a combination of activities here in India. I call it a 360 degree approach. We did travel trade activities. We did consumer direct impress activities that helped,” she said. She also pointed that Jet Airways making Amsterdam its European hub also contributed to that growth. “In 2016 Jet Airways changed their hub from Brussels to Amsterdam so there was a natural growth as you see,” she added.
NBTC recently concluded a three-day B2B India sales mission in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai meeting over three hundred trade buyers. The event was attended by leading Dutch suppliers including Lovers Canal Cruise, Efteling Theme Park, Henri Willig Cheese Farm, Madurodam Theme Park, and ITO Tours, as well as KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Jet Airways.
