Awaiting tourism statistics for 2016, the Netherlands is expecting a 30 per cent growth in Indian arrivals in the year, with a key proposition being Jet Airways’ connectivity between India and the Netherlands. The Netherlands Board of Tourism and Convention (NBTC), along with Jet Airways and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, recently held a travel trade meet in Mumbai.
Being one of the fastest growing inbound markets for the Netherlands, India contributed 101,000 visitors to the destination in 2015. “After being inactive for a couple of years, we started our promotional activities in the India market in 2016. Before 2011, we have been present in this market for around seven to eight years, but this year we have created a plan which is mix of both, travel trade and consumer activities,” said Carola van Rijn, project manager, NBTC.
The average stay duration of Indian visitors in the Netherlands is two nights, and about 90 per cent of Indians go to Amsterdam, whereas the other cities are not visited to that scale. Addressing this, Rijn expressed hope to create more awareness about other destinations, which will subsequently increase the stay duration and spend. She added, “The MICE market from India, at the moment, is smaller than leisure. However, from my interaction with the travel trade, I have observed that MICE is a significant market. We are also trying to create iteneraries that fall into a certain theme, to promote experiental tourism.”
Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, which celebrated 100th anniversary in September 2016, is expecting a nine per cent growth in the number of passengers. Wilco Sweijen, director, aviation marketing, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, stated, “In 2015, passenger traffic between India and the Netherlands was around 200,5000, but with Jet Airways’ connectivity we hope it will grow to over 400,000 in 2016.”
The airport is focusing on operational efficiency and has introduced new facilities such as passport control, iris scan, self-service check in, and self-service drop off points. In July last year, it also introduced a new security process for passengers.
“We are promoting ourselves not just as an airport, but as an airport city by given passengers an experience of Holland in the airport itself. At certain times of the year, we also conduct various events at the airport. The response from the India market has been very good. We are trying to make Amsterdam Airport Schiphol the gateway to Europe for Indian travellers,” said Sweijen, while adding that the airport will roll out more check-in facilities, which is expected to grow its capacity.
