PRESS RELEASE
July 12 2023
New image for Amsterdam as family destination
After years of discussion about the weight of mass tourism on the Dutch capital, Amsterdam wants to reinvent itself as a family holiday destination. As a start, this summer a new fully illustrated travel guide is published for parents and their children to enjoy the city together. Little Bernie visits Amsterdam is made in collaboration between 50 hotels, museums, and travel organizations.
The Little Bernie visits Amsterdam travel guide that will be launched on July 12 in the Amsterdam Zoo Artis describes Dutch history, places of interest, traditional food and local customs as well as walking and boat tours through town. The digital platform of the children’s travel guide will also be available from 12 July. Online Little Bernie offers information about events and travel times, but visitors can also book tickets for museums and attractions through the website.
In recent years, there’s been a growing debate about the nuisance of young travelers visiting the city. Recently the major introduced a plan to remove part of the famous Red Light District to an event center on the ring road of the city because of the overcrowding of the city centre. Previously, rental via sites such as AirBNB have been restrictedand a new bill has been introduced that limits the sales of so-called soft drugs to tourists.
With the travel guide, publisher and writer Floris Müller wants to make Amsterdam known as a family destination. A third of the almost 24 million visitors already travel with children, he says. That share can grow much further, the publisher and writer believes, if all tourism partners in the city work together. Müller: “There’s no place in the world where so many beautiful hotels, museums, restaurants, and a unique city center are so close together. That makes Amsterdam ideal for a holiday with children.” Above all, he says, more than other cities Amsterdam invites visitors to explore the city in their own pace and way, by foot, boat, or bicycle.
Little Bernie visits Amsterdam is published in collaboration with 50 four- and five-star hotels, museums and travel organisations. In addition to these partners, the book is also available online and at bookstores and souvenir shops. Internationally, the travel guide is sold at airports, stations and bookshops in major cities. The travel guide is sponsored by the credit card company MasterCard and has a partnership with the transport company GVB and Cruise Port Amsterdam.
Müller’s ambitions go further than just Amsterdam. Over the next five years he wants to make children’s travel guides for another seven other cities in Europe in collaboration with partner publishers. The first book about Amsterdam is in English, a Dutch edition of the travel guide will be published at the beginning of September. Then Müller also plans to launch a series of other travel products for children.
