Toespraak van minister Kamp bij het Tourism Seminar

Toespraak | 29-01-2015

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Tulips, windmills and canals. The highlights of Holland have attracted millions of Chinese tourists to our country. In 2014 there were as many as 255,000 overnight visitors to the Netherlands, 18 percent more than in the previous year.

Outbound-tourism from China will only increase further over the coming years. Chinese people are travelling more often and further than ever before. They have greater spending-power, and - thanks to the internet - they have more information about all the destinations they can visit throughout the world. It seems you are increasingly living the old Chinese proverb ‘it is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books’.

In 2020 at least 810.000 people from your country are expected to travel to the Netherlands – making it the sixth largest group of foreign tourists to our country. Chinese tourists stay mainly in Amsterdam, and visit in the spring and summer.

Today, I would like to show you some of the treasures you can discover in my country when you step off the beaten-track now and again. The Netherlands has so much to offer, and sometimes the guidebooks don’t tell you the whole story.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to start in the Golden Age of Dutch history. By the middle of the seventeenth century, Amsterdam emerged as the most important trading city in the world, and a flourishing centre of arts and sciences. The Royal Palace on the Dam, built then as a city hall, continues to exude an air of the capital’s past grandeur.

At this time, the ships of the Dutch East and West India Trading companies sailed all over the world, bringing back wares to Amsterdam. You can experience the glory days of the Dutch merchant navy at the National Maritime Museum, housed in the imposing former warehouses of the Dutch East India Company in the centre of Amsterdam.

Thanks to growing prosperity, the Golden Age saw a high demand for skilled craftsmen - particularly artists and architects. They were hired by wealthy merchants to build elegant canal-side mansions, which still define the appearance of the city-centre today. Affluent Amsterdammers liked to have their portraits painted. Take for example The Night Watch by Rembrandt, which he was commissioned to paint - by a company of city guards.

The Rijksmuseum, like other Dutch museums, is home to the work of old Dutch masters such as Hals, Vermeer and Rembrandt. The museum has a prestigious permanent collection, but also sufficient special exhibitions to keep visitors coming back.

And of course there is Vincent Van Gogh. Van Gogh not only painted landscapes in the south of France, he also depicted life in the Dutch countryside. The largest single collection of his works can be seen in the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. And to commemorate the one hundred and twenty fifth anniversary of Van Gogh’s death, 2015 will see a year-long program of cultural events throughout the Netherlands about the painter, his life and his work.

Van Gogh was active during the Netherlands’ transition from its heyday to modern times. However, the Netherlands of today still has much to offer. The Netherlands is a country synonymous with water. We are defined by our struggle against water, yet we also have water to thank for our distinctive polder landscape. The village of Kinderdijk, with the largest concentration of old windmills in the Netherlands, is an iconic example of this. The 19 mills, together with the locks and channels, are testament to our ingenious system of water-management. Windmills nowadays have a different function: generating energy. We now keep water under control through more modern means. It is also worth visiting the impressive Delta Works, which protect the southwest of the Netherlands from the sea.

The contemporary Dutch landscape is also very colourful. From the bulb fields in the west of the Netherlands to the modern windmills along the Dutch coast. The world-famous Keukenhof gardens offer visitors the chance to experience the stunning beauty of our flowers close up. As you can see from the photo, the Keukenhof receives very prominent guests. Your first lady has already been there to admire the tulips.

And if you find yourself outside Amsterdam, I would also recommend visiting our other towns. The Netherlands has a wealth of beautiful old towns where you can shop, wander around and visit museums. Take for example Delft and Gouda, famous for its cheese. Both of which are only an hour away from Amsterdam. You should also consider visiting the towns of Deventer and Zutphen where wandering around its many cobbled streets, museums and courtyards, one feels transported back to the Middle Ages.

And last but not least: let’s not forget Giethoorn. Happily, Chinese tourists have already discovered the ‘Venice’ of the Netherlands, with its miles of picturesque canals, and characteristic farms and bridges.

It’s easy to combine visits to all these places, because of the short distances. In one day you can easily have breakfast in Amsterdam, visit Giethoorn in the afternoon, and then have dinner in Delft. In fact, our country is not much bigger than one of China’s large cities.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions, the tourism sector and the government are delighted to welcome Chinese tourists and tour operators to the Netherlands.

That is why in recent years we have worked hard to improve the visa application process. In compliance with new EU regulations, we have also made every effort to ensure the procedure for submitting biometric data as smooth as possible.

I would like to invite Chinese tour operators to expand their tours by exploring the possibilities off the beaten track. So come to the Netherlands and see for yourselves what our country has to offer.

Together with Dutch and Chinese airlines we will make sure there are sufficient direct flights between our countries. Connections between our countries are among the best in the world, but we do of course have ambitions to improve this even further.

Ladies and gentlemen, if there is one message you remember from today, I hope it is this: The warmest of welcomes awaits you in the Netherlands!

Thank you.