A plastic Eiffel Tower, a snow globe with a mountain landscape or a doll in traditional costume. We are always fond of souvenirs after a vacation. But what do foreign tourists who visit Brabant actually take home in their suitcase?
Many towns and villages in Brabant have a large selection of souvenirs. Often also proudly printed with your own city name.
Roosendaal may not be the first place you think of as a tourist destination, but it is one with an inexhaustible stock of must-haves. “Bottle openers, mugs, kitchen aprons and the skyline of the city are the most sold,” says director Inge van Aalst of the local tourist office.
“Belgians want to have a beautiful memory of the city.”
Oh yes, and here are those magnets again. For just under 4 euros you stick a photo of the Market in Roosendaal against the door of the refrigerator. Prefer a cityscape of 12 centimeters wide in transparent resin? It goes over the counter for the same amount. “Visitors, often Belgians, would like to have a beautiful memory of our city”, says Van Aalst proudly.
In recent years, tourism in Brabant has largely come to a standstill due to the corona pandemic. But now tourists from home and abroad know where to find our province. “We have therefore completely renewed and expanded the range.”
And the Visit Roosendaal Shop benefits from that. Van Aalst does not have turnover figures. “We’re only halfway through the season, aren’t we. But it’s definitely increasing.”
“Our city fits perfectly on the fridge.”
The souvenir shops in Den Bosch are also running at full speed this summer. The city simply gets a visit from the whole world again. Brabant biscuit tins, thimbles, mugs and tiles are sold.
The sales figures make the past two years quickly forget. “Because they were really dramatic. There were hardly any people in the city center,” says Maaike Neuféglise of the Priméra.
In the shop on the Visstraat she sells more than a thousand self-designed items. “You can’t name it that crazy or we have it.” Local and provincial souvenirs are also in great demand here.
It are often day trippers from the Netherlands who buy the Brabantse or Bossche merchandise. “Those people have already filled their refrigerator with countries they have already been to. Our city fits in perfectly with that,” says Maaike.
“Spaniards love clogs and windmills.”
And although the Bossche bollen and sausage rolls are praised worldwide, they do not taste as good if you take them out of your hand luggage after a flight. So especially foreign tourists roam the city for that one beautiful tangible memento of Den Bosch, Brabant and Holland.
“Spaniards, Americans and Japanese love wooden shoes, windmills, a Delft blue kissing couple and tulips. They always buy a lot of it,” says Maaike. Vincent van Gogh should also not be missed as a memento of Brabant. “But what invariably goes with these tourists in the suitcase is a Dutch bicycle.” A bike? “Yes, but as a fridge magnet.”
