Van Gogh Brabant 'good practice' in Tel Aviv
At the invitation of Israel Ministry of Tourism, Heleen Huisjes (VisitBrabant director) and Frank van den Eijnden (Van Gogh Brabant director) were guests last week at IMTM Tourist Information Conceference in Tel Aviv.
The central question was: What can Israel learn from the Netherlands regarding the development of the Negev region as a tourist destination outside the center of the country?
Brabant in the spotlight
Brabant has been working for five years to strengthen the regional business climate with the help of qualitative growth in international tourism. By strongly choosing promising market segments and focusing on design, family-fun and Van Gogh, the region has succeeded in putting Brabant in the international spotlight.
Product development and cultural strengthening
Following a presentation by Heleen Huisjes on this approach, Frank van den Eijnden addressed the role of product development and cultural enhancement in the Van Gogh offering as an example for other regional development plans.
Broad collaboration
The example of Brabant is not seen as the solution to problems such as "overtourism" in Amsterdam. Starting from your own strengths and investing in the development of distinctive offerings can strengthen the core values of a region. And daring to choose quality instead of quantity. That was the motto from Brabant. Crucial in strengthening a region is a broad cooperation between local and regional governments, entrepreneurs and cultural organizations. This is precisely what VisitBrabant and Van Gogh Brabant have had good experiences with. Experiences which they would like to share with others.
The discussion panel at the conference in Israel included:
Amir Halevi, director general, Israeli Ministry of Tourism
Frank van den Eijnden, director of Van Gogh Brabant
Heleen Huisjes, director of VisitBrabant
Shahar Shilo, Director Negev Highlands Tourism, marketing specialist.
Host: Michal Manor, journalist and blogger
