ANVR director Frank Oostdam says it is ‘overall’ positive that there were more visitors to the Vakantiebeurs this year than last year. At the same time, he says: ‘I do think that we should work together to really take a step towards a contemporary Vakantiebeurs. Steps have been taken. I see this year as a kind of transitional situation because of the high turnover in the occupation at the Jaarbeurs. I’m hopeful that things are getting better now and that we have a year to really get it right.’ Oostdam says he understands the position of Arjan Kers, who is concerned about the future-proofing of the fair and wants to consult with the organization.
‘That’s kind of how I feel about it. Of course, more people have to come to the Vakantiebeurs than there have been now, although I am happy with the 9 percent increase (to more than 71,000 visitors, ed.). According to Oostdam, the sector also needs the arrival of the public, as the week of the Vakantiebeurs is also a reason for a lot of press and media to pay attention to travel and holidays. ‘I see it as a week in which we are given the opportunity to generate attention for travel and holidays. Together with the Vakantiebeurs and the participating companies, we have succeeded in this, especially compared to last year. So I see the Vakantiebeurs more broadly. Not only the number of people who visit the fair, but also the opportunity to generate exposure. That’s why it’s important to make the Vakantiebeurs as broad as possible.’ According to Oostdam, the first steps have been taken towards this this year, among other things by involving the municipality of Utrecht in the Dutch Travel Week.
‘If you do that more intensively together with the city of Utrecht, you can turn it into a real Travel Week. I see a lot of potential, but we still have a long way to go.’ Oostdam says it’s a shame that the Travel Congress has more or less been cancelled.
‘Until last year, we had built up a great tradition with the Travel Congress, which we organised together with the Jaarbeurs. Now it has been decided to spread this out on the Trade Day. That doesn’t work for me. I don’t know the numbers yet, but it’s snowing under compared to the commercial importance of that day. And I understand that, people want to see industry peers and have appointments.’ Oostdam: ‘On top of that, we had tapped into a completely different target group with the Travel Congress, with a lot of students. We have missed them now and I think that is a shame. I want to discuss this with the Jaarbeurs to see how we are going to do that in the future.’ Oostdam supports the position of Kers (TUI) that two Trade Days are too many.
‘I don’t know if that’s so useful. I do think it’s a good initiative by Jaarbeurs to add Travel & Tech to it.’ The number of consumer days, three or four, doesn’t really matter to Oostdam. ‘It’s about getting a lot of visitors. As far as I’m concerned, it may take a week. If I look at the sentiment in the market, which is now incredibly positive towards holidays and travel, on the one hand I am happy with that 9 percent increase, but of course it should have been much more. Without sounding too sour, and I am pleased with the enthusiastic stories of a number of colleagues, but that 9% does not reflect the sentiment in the market. In short, the ambitions are there, let’s make them happen now.’
