For many Dutch people, the holiday is the time to discover other countries. The Dutch travel a lot, and increasingly they choose a distant destination. Unfortunately, holidays do not always run smoothly. About 44 percent of Dutch holidaymakers experienced an unpleasant experience during a recent trip abroad, varying from minor inconvenience to serious situations such as illness, accidents or arrests. That appears from research commissioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Point to travel
Good preparation for a trip abroad can make a big difference. As a traveler you can prevent problems and if things go wrong you know what to do. To make the Dutch aware of this, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Customs will start a joint campaign on Monday aimed at Dutch travelers: Wijs op Reis. In the presence of representatives from the travel sector and Customs, director of Consular Affairs of BZ Jan Willem Beaujean launches the 'Wijs op Reis' campaign during the annual New Year's meeting in The Hague with the travel industry on Monday.
Minister Block:
“I wish everyone a nice holiday. But as a traveler you also have a hand in that. So be wise and prepare your trip well, so that you can enjoy carefree. For example, take out good insurance and inform yourself which souvenirs you should not take home. Find out in advance how safe it is at your destination so you know which places to avoid and where to go safely. Should things go wrong, our 24/7 BZ Contact Center is available day and night for Dutch people with a request for help. It is a good thing that the national government is now joining forces: no separate campaigns, but one joint effort to send the Dutch on a wise journey. ”
Director of Customs Nanette van Schelven:
“We naturally endorse this message from Customs. A nice trip is only complete if you can also walk past customs without any problems. By joining forces with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we as a government help future travelers to travel 'wisely' as much as possible. We do this with one counter, which makes good preparation easier. ”
On the website ijsopreis.nl travelers can find all relevant information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Customs: from travel advice to information about what can and cannot be carried back in the luggage.
Aid to the Dutch in 2019
During the meeting, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also presented the annual figures on aid to Dutch people abroad. This shows, among other things, that in 2019 Foreign Affairs assisted more than 3100 Dutch people in emergency situations. The reasons included. missing persons, arrests, death and hospitalizations.
The figures also show that the Dutch are increasingly finding travel advice. In total, the opinions were consulted 3,25 million times in the past year. That is almost a million times more than in 2018, when the Dutch looked up 2,3 million times in the travel advice.
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