Visit Amsterdam, See Holland

First-time travellers to Amsterdam are drawn to icons such as the Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank House and the Van Gogh Museum. However, on longer stays or repeat visits, international visitors are also interested in sights and activities that are easily accessible from Amsterdam. 

In 2009, the City of Amsterdam (in collaboration with local governments, promotional organisations, transport companies and amsterdam&partners) developed a collective strategy to draw attention to the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area in response to this trend.

This resulted in the project 'Visit Amsterdam, See Holland' (Amsterdam Bezoeken, Holland Zien), and led to the development of six recognisable thematic areas: Amsterdam Beach, Authentic Haarlem, Castles & Gardens, Flowers of Amsterdam, New Land and Old Holland.

These themed areas ensure that Amsterdam and the region are presented as an integral destination and promotes the dispersal of crowded tourist attractions. This message is aimed at international visitors. Therefore, we do not use this terminology on our Dutch-language channels.

Residents of these themed areas will hardly recognise terms like Amsterdam Beach or Flowers of Amsterdam. Nevertheless, this approach helps to restore a sustainable visitor economy and a liveable city. 

Residents of these themed areas may not be familiar with terms like Amsterdam Beach or Flowers of Amsterdam. 

There is an ongoing intensive collaboration with local governments, city marketing organisations, cultural attractions and entrepreneurs in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area to give the best interpretation of the areas in question. Results are the dedicated content pages, the I amsterdam Area Guide and Cycleseeing routes.

In 2015, this project was awarded the prestigious UNWTO Award for Innovation in Non-Governmental Organisations by the United Nations.