The busy experience on Texel is based on emotion and not on research. That is the conclusion of director Iwan Groothuis of De Krim, Texel’s largest recreation company with 9 locations on the island. He warns of the downward spiral if entrepreneurs cannot broaden the tourist season and bind young people to the island. According to Groothuis, not enough is being looked at in the long term. “Take out the emotion and start making policy based on arguments,” he says.
The Tourism Future Plan is largely based on ‘crowds’. “But the feeling of being crowded is mainly due to mobility,” says Groothuis. “Not so much because of the number of guests. Texel residents experience crowds when they can no longer park in their own street. Because the places have been taken by guests of a bed and breakfast. Or can no longer park at the supermarket.”
One of the touristic concentration areas is the north of Texel, where a number of recreational companies are located in addition to two large holiday parks. “I think ten thousand guests stay here in the high season. Of course they then visit the well-known places on Texel, such as the harbour, the lighthouse, the villages, museums and the beaches. Often by car, which increases the feeling of being busy. to do with mobility.”
Underground parking?
An important part of this is the parking problem. The well-known parking spaces in Den Burg are often occupied during the high season, which means that the local residents also experience immediate nuisance.” One or more underground parking spaces could be a solution to this problem in Groothuis’s eyes.
In all major cities in the world there is a public transport system, aimed at the many tourists who visit the city. “For example, wouldn’t a hop on/hop off bus be a great solution for the many cars that now drive across the island several times a day? A red bus with an open roof in the summer, who wouldn’t want to use that! “
“Teso ferry service can also ask whether people with a camper have a reservation”
According to the director, the number of campers is also worth a discussion. There are about 180 specific camper spots on Texel. Owners of a camper should only be allowed to go to Texel with a reservation ticket, says Groothuis. “Without a reservation, you leave the camper in Den Helder and rent a bicycle. Otherwise, they camp illegally on Texel or they drive across the island for a day. That is also not desirable. If three of these copies park at Albert Heijn, the parking lot fills up quickly.”
Groothuis believes that the Teso ferry service also has a role to play here. “They can help us think about how we can control that busy feeling. At the counter in Den Helder, they can ask whether people with a camper have a reservation.”
Camping pitches
Groothuis indicates that Texel has more than enough camping pitches. De Krim has three camping grounds in its own use: Kogerstrand, Loodsmansduin and De Shelter. That is a total of 8000 licensed sleeping places.
According to the destination, you are also not allowed to offer fixed forms of accommodation at these campsites. In addition, there are camping spots at the farms and a few small camping areas. “The places at our own camping grounds are only fully booked five to six weeks a year. There is always room outside of that, so there is no shortage on Texel.”
According to Groothuis, converting camping pitches or mobile homes into bungalows has a positive effect on crowds. For example, the camping pitches at Villapark De Koog have been converted into luxury bungalows. “We have gone from 450 camping berths to 240 berths there. That means that 46 percent of the number of sleeping places is no longer in use. The result is that we have fewer guests in the high season. We therefore have slightly more guests in the low season. “
“That is a very positive development. Because extra people come to the island in a period when we really need them. That is precisely a target group that has a little more to spend and uses shops and restaurants. I am quite concerned about the number of companies that are closed in the low season.”
“That young staff will leave the island and go home in November”
The director of Crimea supports the additional landscape touch included in the umbrella zoning plan. “It is not desirable to develop in the open landscape. But where possible in the tourist concentration areas and within the existing boundaries of the recreation company, the entrepreneur must retain the opportunity to respond to changes.”
“If we only have operators that are only open during the tourist season from Easter to the autumn holidays, then there is also less room to offer employees an annual contract. Those employees will leave the island and go home in November. When they find a job, they don’t come back.”
Seasonal expansion is therefore necessary, says Groothuis. “We are therefore better able to bind staff to us. That is very important for Texel. And on the other hand, it is better for the economy on the island. We all have to keep things running together.”
Groothuis believes that too much is played on emotion. For example, it is said that Texel has too little space for campers. “There is a lot of ‘social tourism’ on Kogerstrand. These are people who come for 20 to 30 euros per night. A couple with two children pay 9 euros per night for tourist tax. In the low season, that is almost half the cost of their overnight stay. We see that this target group is slowly but surely disappearing from the island and is finding another location along the coast in the Netherlands.”
“Look at tourist tax”
According to Groothuis, the amount of the tourist tax has a major influence, especially for this target group. “It is often the only holiday per year and they prefer to go on holiday for as long as possible. It used to be four weeks, but now, partly due to the influence of the tourist tax, it is a maximum of two weeks. Previously, campers paid tourist tax with a maximum of five nights, which had a particularly favorable effect for this target group.”
That maximum has been removed by the Texel politicians, so that a camper pays as much per night as someone who rents a bungalow of a thousand euros or more per week. Each guest pays 2.25 per night. For someone who rents a hotel room for 150 euros per night, the amount of the tourist tax is relatively much less high. “It would be good to take another look at the tourist tax system. There are regions where there is a differentiation per type of accommodation, and in Amsterdam, for example, the tourist tax is paid as a percentage of the rent.”
Aging
The aging population on Texel is increasing and that has an impact on prosperity. “Thirty percent of the working population will retire within eight years. That puts extra pressure on health care and the labor market. We need young people for that. If you no longer keep the youth on the island, everything will become out of balance. “
“A halt to future development is a long-term threat to Texel.”
“How do we maintain the broad prosperity on Texel? And how do we maintain the diversity on the island? Because if we don’t have young people, there will soon be no school in De Cocksdorp. And the supermarket will no longer be able to do it. You need to have a good overview of economic and social developments for a good policy.”
“The need for a solid economic basis has not been properly taken into account in the papaplu zoning plan. A stop to future development is a threat to Texel in the long term,” says Groothuis. “Because developments continue quickly. Especially in the field of sustainability. What is now being developed according to the current possibilities will probably be outdated in a few years.”
NH360 about tourism on Texel
Has Texel reached the limit of tourism? NH hopes to receive an answer to this. The stories come from all sides: 360 degrees.
From 28 February to 3 March NH will move part of the editorial team to Den Burg. This week we can be found daily in the Glass Palace.
Do you want to join the conversation? Everyone is welcome to come and share their story with us. You can also just take a look. Our editorial staff can be found from tomorrow in the Glass Palace, located in the Wezentuin park in Den Burg.
All stories that are made from Texel can be recognized by the NH 360º design above the articles. A collection of the stories can be found at nhnieuws.nl/360texel.
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