Holland cuts tourist staff in New York

Amsterdam has few equals when it comes to beauty.

The economic troubles in Europe are having a devastating affect on the continent's tourism sector with many countries being forced to close offices abroad because they lack the funds to operate them.

The latest victim is the Netherlands Board of Tourism (NBTC), which yesterday handed lay off notices to most of its staff in New York after having its budget cut 65 per cent by the Dutch government. Half the NBTC's staff worldwide has now been dismissed thanks to the cutbacks.

Holland's New York offices oversaw all of its North American tourism operations.

European countries are facing unprecedented cutbacks thanks to the economic chaos now gripping  dysfunctional members of the European Union - the most costly and useless government body in the world - and other countries have notified their tourism boards abroad to get ready for major layoffs as well.

European countries closed their Canadian offices years ago and now with the shutdown of their U.S. offices, which oversaw the Canadian tourism market as well, the job of selling overpriced and overtaxed Europe will be much tougher.

Sadly, there's a human cost to all this. People like Brigitta Kroon-Fiorita, the NBTC's manager of media relations in New York, one of the best in the business, was notified this week that her job has been cut.

The talented Brigitta, who did a great job promoting the Netherlands to the North American media for 22 years, will be missed!

Famed Dutch band to tour Canada

48th Highlanders of Holland will visit Canada next month.

One of the most moving and memorable tours I've ever taken was to the battlefield graveyards in the Netherlands, where so many young Canadians gave their lives to help the Dutch gain their freedom from the clutches of Hitler's evil.

The Dutch have never forgotten what Canadians did for them and to this very day care for our graves as if they were their own soldiers. The bond between our countries has grown ever stronger since World War II and every time a major WWII occasion crops up, the Dutch open their homes and arms to welcome back Canadian veterans.

In 1991, the Dutch created a living tribute to Canada when it established the 48th Highlanders of Holland Pipes & Drums band, named after the famed Canadian regiment which helped liberate the city Apeldoorn in April 1945. The Canadian regiment had its own pipe band and its members led the regiment into battle that day.

Now, that Dutch band in coming to Canada for a seven-day tour between Nov. 2-9.

The visit of the Dutch band is timed to celebrate the 120th Anniversary of the 48th Highlanders of Canada at their “Homecoming Weekend”, Nov. 4,5 and 6, 2011. (see http://www.48highlanders.com/ for more info on that event).

The Dutch Band will be performing in Burlington (twin city of Apeldoorn), Brantford and Toronto betwen Nov 2 – 9 and everyone is invited to attend the free performances.

Here's where they'll be performing:

Nov. 2 - Burlington: Branch 60 of the Royal Canadian Legion, 7 p.m.  

Nov. 3 - Burlington: 11 a.m., Mount Royal Plaza and Brant Street; 5.30 p.m. 501 Kenmar Crescent street party.

Nov. 4 - Brantford: 9.45 a.m., Brantford War Memorial. Laying of a wreath and Remembrance concert;

11.30 a.m., Canadian Military Heritage Museum. This will be followed by performances with the 48th Highlanders of Canada.
Nov. 5 - Toronto: 11 a.m., Parade in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

Nov. 6 - Toronto: 11 am. Remembrance Day Parade Queens Park.

Nov. 7 - Burlington: Performance for the Seniors, 11.15 a.m. Burlington Senior’s Centre, 2285 New St. in Central Park adjacent to the Central Library.
Nov. 8 - Burlington: Performance at Burlington City Hall, 11.30 a.m., Laying of a wreath at the Burlington War Memorial at City Hall; 12 p.m., Performance for Mayor Rick Goldring and members of Council and citizens of Burlington, Burlington City Hall Square.

To find out more about the band and it`s Canadian Tour see www.48th-highlanders.nl/indexeng.html.

For further information contact: Jim Matz (Tour Organizer, Canada) jimmatz@cogeco.ca or 905-632 – 5752.

And if you ever get a chance to visit the Netherlands, make sure you visit one of the Canadian military graveyards - it's a moving experience you'll never forget!

Flying Dutchman hits the water

Flying Dutchman bus cruise takes you on a tour
of Amsterdam's great canal system.

Henny Groenendijk, our good friend at the Netherlands Board of Tourism - she's the best in the business, folks - sent me a list of things visitors can do while in her remarkable country this Fall.

One of the things that caught my eye was a new amphibious tour being offered passengers at Holland's great Schiphol Airport - the best in Europe.

Passengers with a long layover at Schiphol can now take a canal tour aboard the "Flying Dutchman" - half boat/half bus - and they can board the floating craft at the airport's new "Splash Zone."

The amphibious bus carries 48 passengers, cruises the canals on battery power and is a partnership between the airport, the city of Amsterdam and a local cruise company.

Tours last two hours and 45 minutes and are offered three times a day. Tickets cost about $56 (39 euros) for adults and about $28 (19.50 euros) for children. Booking online offers a 10 per cent discount.

Toronto's Annette Fatael, who had a nine-hour layover at Schiphol while en route to Tel Aviv recently, tried the bus cruise and said it was a great way to kill time. "It’s a huge tour bus and it was hard to believe that it was going to go into the water,” she was quoted as saying.