According to the Visit Brabant tourism office, our province is the most Flemish in the Netherlands. A campaign in the Flemish media, including radio commercials, emphasizes how much Flanders and North Brabant resemble each other. This should tempt more Belgians to come here for a day out or a holiday.
According to Tamara Ernst of Visit Brabant, our province is too unknown to the Flemish people. “Of course they know De Efteling amusement park and the Beekse Bergen, but otherwise they actually know little about North Brabant.”
The fact that North Brabant is not mentioned in the campaign is because Belgium also has two provinces of Brabant. Flemish and Walloon Brabant to be precise. From 1183 to 1795, these three provinces belonged to the Duchy of Brabant, with Brussels as its capital.
“Flemish people find Brabant more friendly than the rest of the Netherlands.”
Visit Brabant called in a Belgian communications agency to devise the campaign. It emphasizes the similarities. For example, we in North Brabant, like the Belgians, are less direct than the Dutch. We are also portrayed as exuberant, cozy and friendly.
Visit Brabant thinks there are enormous opportunities to attract more Belgian tourists here, because they will feel at home here and because it feels familiar.
The campaign was devised by the Belgian communication agency Thx Agency. Kris van den Broeck: “We did research among 2000 people and asked them what they think of North Brabant. This shows that Flemish people find the province more friendly than the rest of the Netherlands. The language is also softer and most people are also Catholic. And you have fantastic bike paths here.”
“I regularly visit North Brabant and feel at home here.”
Wondering if ordinary Belgians really think we look like them. “Yes, we used to belong together, so I think it’s right,” says a Belgian woman who comes to do some shopping in Luyksgestel, just across the border.
Yet she also sees differences: “I think we are a bit more closed. I come from Lommel. They are also direct, which leans towards the Netherlands. In general, we are a bit more closed than here in Brabant.”
A Belgian who does his shopping in the border enclave of Baarle-Nassau: “Yes, I think it matches. I regularly visit North Brabant and feel at home here.”
“The people here are friendlier, but the Belgians enjoy themselves more.”
A Belgian woman sitting on a terrace in Baarle also sees differences: “The people here are friendlier, but the Belgians enjoy themselves more. We often go to a terrace and have a drink. The Dutch do that less.”
A man from Den Bosch who takes a trip to Baarle-Nassau with his family, fully agrees with the campaign: “It used to be one with Belgium here. Unfortunately, a line has been drawn between them. I think the mentality of the Brabant people fit with the Belgians. In that respect, it is worth reuniting it again. But that will never happen again,” he says with a smile.