Stuart Forster indulges in shameless self-promotion after being named Digital Influencer of the Year at the 2018 Holland Press Awards.
The awards evening was held at The Hoxton hotel in the Holborn district of London.
Over the past year, I’ve written several articles about the Netherlands, covering themes ranging from city breaks to art as well as food and drink. In addition to those published here on Go Eat Do, I’ve had features published by Rough Guides, CNN Travel and other outlets.
It is a huge honour to be presented with this award.
The Holland Press Awards
“During a year we can typically receive around 1,500-2,000 articles on Holland and we look at all of these to form a shortlist to then go forward for judging. With the Digital Influencer category we were looking for someone that had written about Holland for a variety of outlets on different themes and had also shown to support Holland across social media platforms as well. With subjects including Mondrian to Dutch Design, Groningen, culinary reviews and exhibition reviews there was a huge showcase for Holland via your outlets,” commented Simone Sagi, PR Manager UK and Ireland for the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions.
Reflecting passion and interest
“The Awards represent excellence in writing and a passion and interest in Holland. The Awards are held annually to showcase the best articles written in the previous year and are a way for us (NBTC) to thank the writers that have shown a flair for writing about Holland in a positive and encouraging way. We look for articles that would encourage a visitor to go to Holland, that inform the reader with sound knowledge, tips, ideas and personal anecdotes or insights. We especially enjoy personal photographs over stock photography and know that your articles and social media always have the best photography,” added Simone.
British tourism to the Netherlands
Collectively, features, blogs and photos have a significant impact on influencing people’s travel and holiday choices.
“Holland continues to be a popular destination for British visitors, with in excess of two million visitors a year from the UK. Holland’s museums and galleries are especially a huge draw for the British visitor, with over 60% of British travellers placing this as their number one reason to go to Holland,” said Simone.
Attractions such as the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, The Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam and the Het Noordbrabants Museum in ‘s-Hertogenbosch are just some of those that I’ve enjoyed visiting.
In addition to an inscribed plaque, I was presented with a bottle of Bobby’s Gin and a box of Rituals spa products.
The evening was also an opportunity for journalists and representatives from attractions in the Netherlands to mingle and chat.
Photo credits: Illustrating photos were supplied courtesy of the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions.
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