“It is high time the importance of the tourism sector was taken seriously in The Hague,” says Maastricht Marketing Director Leontien Mees.

Support and recovery
In the plan, which was delivered to the House of Representatives on Tuesday, marketing organizations advocate for the support and recovery of the tourism sector after the crown crisis. According to the parties, the Dutch visitor economy accounted for four percent of gross domestic product and 800,000 jobs in 2019. “The economic importance of the tourism sector is great,” Mees says.

“Tourism creates jobs and gives an area a quality boost. Maastricht will always remain a tourist hotspot. This is precisely why we want to make sure the sector is future-proof.”

Ideas
Organizations already have several ideas to prepare the tourism sector for the future. “This includes making holiday parks and tourist attractions more sustainable, renovating accommodation to avoid undermining, and CO2-neutral transportation options for visitors.”

United Kingdom
For their plans, the organizations ask the government to create a fund of one billion euros. They also look at the UK, which is spending billions on promoting and renewing tourism.

minister of state
In addition to a transition plan, the fifteen initiators want the tourism sector to have a full place in the economic policy of the next cabinet. “It is essential here that the sector is under the responsibility of a minister, something that the sector had already defended in a letter to the then-informant Herman Tjeenk Willink.”

Big cities
Maastricht Marketing is collaborating with several other tourism marketing organizations for the plan. The big cities of Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht, among others, are affiliated with the campaign.