VR attraction to lure tourists away from Amsterdam

A virtual reality installation at Amsterdam Central Station is intended to lure tourists to attractions outside the Dutch capital and thereby spread tourism throughout the country. The Netherlands is more than just Amsterdam, is the message, Het Parool reports.

The VR headsets are installed in the I Amsterdam Store. There tourists can have a 360 degree look at other places in the Netherlands, while tour guides give them facts about these places. The VR glasses offer six videos, each with a different theme, covering the Keukenhof, Volendam, Muiderslot, Almere, Haarlem and Zandvoort.

Amsterdam Marketing thought up the VR installation, which specifically targets tourists who are staying in Amsterdam for more than a day. The idea is to convince them to also visit other places in the Netherlands.

Whether this will work, remains to be seen. "It's nice", a 21-year-old Australian tourist told Het Parool after his VR experience. But he and his seven friends will still spend their time only in Amsterdam. "We want to smoke weed, go to the Sex Museum and the Jewish Museum. And we want to go out in the evening. Can we do that here during the week? Yes? Then we'll do it. After that we're going to Barcelona."

A British couple in their late 20s will also stay in Amsterdam after their VR experience. "This is our first time. We want to make the most of it. We have been to the Amsterdam Dungeon and the Hash Marihuana & Hemp Museum. Maybe next time we'll go to other cities, but there is still plenty to see in Amsterdam", they said to the newspaper.