the partnership between culture and tourism is of relatively recent origin in the Netherlands, which has drawn extensively on the British experience of developing heritage tourism during the 1980s. Most development has therefore taken place in the area of heritage (cultural-historical tourism), although arts tourism is increasingly being developed through ’blockbuster’ exhibitions and events.
Following privatisation and increased orientation to market, the established cultural attractions of the country have been joined by a wide range of commercial and voluntary sector attractions, dramatically expanding the range of cultural opportunities for tourists. The cultural tourism market has become increasingly competitive, especially as the growth in attraction supply has outstripped the rise in visitor numbers in recent years.
Given the richly built heritage of The Netherlands, the growth of cultural tourism has to be considered as an opportunity for the Dutch tourism industry. That is why the government drafted a Masterplan drawn up in order to elaborate a product development strategy for cultural tourism. The main recommendation of this plan was to bring history to life by means of a dynamic and coherent presentation of the built heritage. The realization of this and other plans is impossible without the cooperation of organizations which are responsible for heritage preservation.