Tag Archives: Alphonsus Stoelinga

The Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC) has recorded 30 per cent growth from India in 2017 over 2016. Alphonsus Stoelinga, Ambassador, Kingdom of the Netherlands, spoke about this growth in New Delhi recently and said that the numbers of Indians visiting Holland is on a rise and vice versa. He revealed that they are expecting 2018 to record double digit growth as well. Attributing this growth to the increased air connectivity, he said, “With Jet Airways offering direct connections from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam; as well as KLM Royal Dutch Airlines starting flying from Mumbai to Amsterdam, the number of travellers between the two countries is increasing. Amsterdam is acting as a hub for Indians to not only land in Holland and explore the destination, but also go to other European countries from there, especially with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines offering connections to all of Europe and America. This added with Jet Airways offering connections all across India, is only going to boost the traffic between both the countries.” He also added that this year’s theme for marketing for NBTC would be luxury, and the country has many offerings and experiences for travellers in this segment.

Indians visiting the Netherlands in the past year has crossed the 100,000 mark, informed Carola van Rijn, Project Manager, NBTC Holland Marketing. “There has been a steady rise in Indian travellers the past year and we expect a growth of 30 per cent in 2016,” she said at the Holland Club meeting, held in New Delhi. Along with representatives from Schiphol airport and Jet Airways, Alphonsus Stoelinga, Ambassador of the Netherlands to India was also present on the occasion and highlighted the bond shared between the two countries in terms of investments and trade. The Netherlands is promoting destinations such as Utrecht, The Hague, Rotterdam etc, apart from the capital, Amsterdam and is also working towards digitalising its visa services. With the relocation of Jet Airways’ hub from Brussels to Amsterdam eight months ago, the move is expected to give a boost to arrival numbers with direct connectivity from Mumbai and New Delhi.