The annual Citynavigator Day took place on Tuesday 14 March and Thursday 16 March 2023. During this event, more than 100 destinations in the Netherlands came together. By means of an interactive programme, they were updated on a number of current topics, with as icing on the cake: the presentation of the Citynavigatorawards 2023!
The day's programme was as follows:
- Trends in tourism and online marketing
- The impact of AI & ChatGPT on the role of the DMO
- Google Analytics 4
- Roadmap and further development plaece
- 360 success in content: From Instameets to Webinars (Case Switzerland)
- Plaece Awards 2023
The day ended with the presentation of the Plaece Awards: extraordinary achievements of extraordinary destinations. In different categories, awards were presented for the best visited website, the biggest riser and the most viewed page.
The heartbeat of 2022
In 2022, we saw the tourism industry pick up after the corona years. In total, we welcomed 30.5 million visitors to the combined websites of 101 destinations in the Netherlands. That was 32% more than in 2021.
After analysing all participating websites, we can predict the average number of expected online visitors:
- Major cities: 644,000 online visitors per year
Cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants (e.g. Maastricht, Almere, ’s-Hertogenbosch, Groningen) - Medium-sized towns: 156,000 online visitors per year
Towns with between 40,000 and 100,000 inhabitants (e.g. Harderwijk, Roosendaal, Hilversum, Winterswijk) - Small towns & villages: 85,000 online visitors per year
Fewer than 40,000 inhabitants (e.g. Boxtel, Gorinchem, Valkenswaard, Oegstgeest) - Large regions: 741,000 online visitors per year
Large-scale areas, comparable to a province (e.g. VisitBrabant, Drenthe, Friesland, Veluwe) - Small areas: 118,000 online visitors per year
Nature reserves and regional areas (e.g. Goeree Overflakkee, Maashorst, Krommerijnstreek, Vlieland)
There was a clear increase in the number of online visitors to cities compared to areas. Whereas during the corona years people sought nature, in 2022 the return to cities proved to be the major increase in visitors.
Best visited big city website: Maastricht
In the major cities category, the award for the most visited website went to Maastricht. In particular, the reception of King Willem Alexander on King's Day resulted in a large flow of online visitors wanting to view the programme. In addition, the Magical Maastricht festival is always a great traffic builder.
The biggest riser was Almere, which had a whopping 103% more visitors compared to 2021. This was mainly due to the deployment of Ally's unique storylines, which boosted visitor sentiment significantly.
The most viewed page of the major cities was Groningen's getaway calendar.
Best visited medium-sized city website: Winterswijk
The award for the most visited website of a medium-sized city went to Winterswijk. Winterswijk's website attracts many German visitors, with "Shopping in Winterswijk" providing many visitors.
The biggest riser was Roosendaal, which had a whopping 115% more visitors compared to 2021.
The most viewed page of the medium-sized cities was Woerden's Homepage. In particular, its timeliness and constant adjustments based on user data analysis make the homepage a welcome starting point for visitors to Woerden.
Best visited small villages and cities website: Gorinchem
In the category small towns and villages, the award for the best visited website went to Gorinchem. The most beautiful fortified town in the Netherlands (according to the ANWB) knows how to present its offer in such a way that it is highly appreciated by online visitors.
The biggest riser was Spakenburg, which saw 153% more visitors than last year.
The most viewed page of the small cities and towns was the homepage of Gorinchem.
Best visited website by major regions: VisitBrabant
The award for the most visited website of the major regions goes to VisitBrabant. In particular, the "Closer to each other" campaign and the route offerings in Brabant ensure that visitors are increasingly able to find Brabant.
The biggest riser was Waterland of Friesland, which attracted a whopping 155% more visitors compared to 2021.
The most viewed page of the large areas was the events calendar of Drenthe.
Best visited website of small territories: Voorne-Putten
In the small areas category, the award for the best visited website went to Voorne Putten.
The biggest riser was the Land van de Peel website, which attracted no less than 91% more visitors than last year.
The most viewed page of the small areas was the Gooi & Vecht outings calendar.
Almere best captivates its visitors
Besides generating traffic to your website, it is of course important to ensure that you help your visitor with what he is looking for and entice him to come to your destination and stay there longer. We looked at website visit duration and the number of pages viewed per visit. This shows that Almere does this best! Visitors spend an average of 7:39 on the site, viewing over 9 pages per visit. That is about 3x more than the average benchmark of all Dutch destinations.
Tussen Lek en Linge has the highest engagement rate on Instagram
Of all destinations in the Netherlands, the Instagram account of Tussen Lek en Linge managed (in February 2023) to achieve an engagement ratio of no less than 6.50%. That's well above the average of 2.52%. Congratulations @tussenlekenlinge
Lessons learned for ultimate (online) destination marketing:
Based on over 79 million page views and the best practices of 100+ destinations in the Netherlands, we can give you four tips:
- Events are the big traffic builders
- Make sure these events have a home on your own website (preferably not a separate website)
- Provide an up-to-date homepage, with the visitor canons directly in view
- Help the German visitor in his search, at the right time
See you next year!
We look back with great pleasure on a successful Plaece Day 2023. There was celebration, chatter and inspiration. We believe in a joint approach and therefore find it incredibly valuable that everyone wanted to share tips & tricks with each other. Keep telling and sharing the stories of your destination, because an engaging destination is a thriving destination. ❤️
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