The tourist market is always in flux and wishes and needs are changing rapidly. Visitors look for a distinctive leisure offer and want to be constantly stimulated with unique ideas and experiences. In this context, it is essential as a DMO, municipality or city marketing organization to create your own “storyline” based on your DNA and to support this with packages that suit you and that provide the necessary burden of proof. Listening carefully to the target groups you want to focus on is indispensable.
To be able to meet the current critical wishes and requirements as a DMO, municipality, city marketing organization or as an entrepreneur, extensive experience in this sector is essential. As an independent leisure professional I have over 30 years of experience in local and regional destination product development. In addition, I have a large and diverse international trade network in the main markets that can ensure the correct activation quickly and effectively. My approach is practical, pragmatic, enthusiastic and above all effective.
Activities:
Collaborate with, for and together with (semi) government organizations, stakeholders, entrepreneurs, international travel organizations, OTAs, bus companies, DMCs, (river) cruise companies, universities, event & meeting planners and creative design agencies. I can make a valuable contribution when working on tourist or business initiatives, realization and roll-out of these plans..
Since 2013, the marketing organization of the province North Brabant has been committed to large tourist development projects in which national and international tourist visits are proactively stimulated. The main projects were:
The current Brabant military heritage and the events that took place on Brabant territory during the Second World War were unknown to international travel organizations. Everyone knows Operation Market Garden but have no notion that most of the preparation and fighting in the second half of 1944 by the Allies took place in Brabant. As a result, the Board decided in 2018 to actively trade towards foreign tour operators and Online Travel Agents in the UK, USA, CAN, PLN and NED. The aim was to have the Brabant WWII heritage sites and museums included in the portfolio of these int. travel organizations. In this context, a range of trade activities was started in 2018 to make the travel organizations aware of, and interested in new composite PMCs. These activities have led to a large number of publications in brochures and on websites of travel organizations in the UK, CAN, USA and the Netherlands. Numerous site inspections have also taken place and efforts have been made to create an pool of (int) tour guides where qualified WWII guides unite.
In 2015 it was 125 years since Vincent van Gogh died. In the province of Brabant there are five heritage locations (Museums) that have traces of Vincent van Gogh but are still unknown to the international public. In this international project that also involved all Van Gogh partners in Europe (including the Van Gogh Museum, Kroller Muller Museum and the Belgian and French partners), it was my job to invite the international tour operators and press to explore the Brabant Van Gogh heritage visit and experience locations and museums. By putting together the right travel packages for the different target groups and international markets, we managed to interest the major tour operators and journalists from all over the world in "Van Gogh's Homeland". In particular, the alliances that were entered into with not only all major international travel organizations, but also with the Van Gogh Museum, Keukenhof and several major international media partners, resulted in huge booking numbers and great publicity. The Van Gogh year in 2015 resulted in 1 million extra! international visitors who visited the Netherlands.
In 2016 it was 500 years ago that Jheronimus Bosch died in the city of 's-Hertogenbosch (circa 1450 - 1516). Jheronimus Bosch 500 is the name of a multi-year event commemorating and honouring the world-famous painter, which peaked in 2016 year. As International Trade Manager, I entered into alliances with the main international tour operators, OTAs, cultural & museum associations from the main countries of origin on behalf of the Jheronimus Bosch500 Foundation and the Noord Brabants Museum. (DU, BE, UK, SP, IT, USA, JAP and CHN) and I put together tailor-made travel packages (for groups and individuals) for the different travel organizations and associations in the different international markets. In 3 months from February 2016 to May 2016, more than 420,000 visitors visited the exhibition and the region (the planning was 300,000). More than 25% of the visitors came from abroad.
Three provinces meet in this sustainable development area in the southwestern delta of the Netherlands between Rotterdam and Antwerp; Zeeland, South Holland and Brabant. This wetland region launched a tourist and recreational development programme in 2017 to increase the number of (international) tourists to this area. The Board expressed the ambition that the region should benefit from the explosive growth that the river cruise sector has experienced in recent years. Since 2017 I have been involved as a leisure coordinator and ensure that international river cruise companies and handlers become interested in the area and that the ports of call and leisure locations are included in the route portfolio. To increase the professionalization, involvement and quality level among the entrepreneurs and stakeholders involved, training and knowledge sessions with regard to product development were organized in order to make the Waterpoort area “tourist, hospitality & international proof”.
The construction of the luxury bungalow resort Ridderstee Ouddorp Duin in Oudorp started in 2018, with Phase I opening in August 2019 and Phase II in July 2020. In total, the Ridderstee Ouddorp Duin has 125 luxury bungalows in various types and luxury. The owner asked me to provide a good mix of domestic and foreign tour operators and online booking platforms to work with in the short and long term. The focus had to be on the German market and the Belgian market because these nationalities are prepared to reserve more luxurious types of housing and for longer periods. In addition, German and Belgian guests are also willing to travel in the winter months and spend relatively more money on food and drink, which not only benefits spending in the restaurant but also in the village and the region. Ultimately, cooperation agreements were concluded with a good mix of international travel organizations and online booking platforms, and there are still more than enough homes left for their own rental.
I worked as a Commercial Manager at Bungalow Resort de Leistert in Roggel on behalf of a project developer. In addition to the De Leistert campsite, a real estate entrepreneur built a 5-star resort with 225 luxury detached bungalows. A service & sales office has been opened, not only to raise the necessary information and service standards, but also to stimulate sales and rental for the owners, future owners, consumers and travel organizations. My tasks included writing the sales, marketing & communication plan, launching a separate rental and sales website, implementing an online information system (incl. CRS & CMS), improving information, documentation on the resort, taking care of an (international) sales & service kit and ensuring the right mix of travel organizations. Review site Zoover rated De Leistert nine months after opening with a nice 9.3, we received the Zoover quality prize and we achieved an average neat occupancy rate of 68% over the first season.
In the Netherlands I worked for the Business Unit City-Break and Overland of both Arke Reizen and Holland International. After the merger of both leading brands, the accommodation had to be assigned to the correct labels, and long-term relationships had to be established with channel managers of all accommodation with which TUI worked abroad. In addition, I was GSA in the Benelux for TUI Germany for three years. My main task was to represent TUI Germany in the Benelux and I was an intermediary between the head office in Germany of all TUI partners in the Benelux. I was responsible for the entire operational organization in the Benelux where there were two weekly strategic sessions in Hanover with regard to setting up and executing the B2B and B2C campaigns.
In my last formal position before I started working independently, I was commercial director at the VVV Amsterdam. In addition to managing the reservation centre, I was the first contact person for all hoteliers and leisure providers and I was responsible for all information, service and reservation activities within the Amsterdam Tourist Board. In order to break the trend of decreasing turnover, it was necessary to convert the fixed amount of yearly contribution that the members paid into commission structure, whereby a fixed commission percentage is paid for each reservation. This meant a significant extra source of income for the VVV and was badly needed to get the organization healthy. In addition, it was necessary to increase the service and quality level in the more than 600 Amsterdam hotels. International research showed that the level of hospitality in Amsterdam had decreased. In this context, so-called quality and service level programmes have been introduced and implemented under the main 'problem' hotels. Ultimately, this resulted in a higher level of satisfaction among the tourist and business visitors in the city.
Part-time teacher at NHTV Breda (now BUAS) where I taught various hospitality and tour operating programmes to third and fourth year international bachelor students during one academic year. The interesting thing about this project was that I could take the students from practice and show them what the world of tour operating looks like. How do you work with local agencies, what is involved in putting together unique travel packages, aimed at a target group or specific market and with which you create moments that create unforgettable experiences? The year ended with a practical assignment in which the students had to hand in a product plan about a unique "experience journey" which they also had to purchase concretely at a foreign location, whether or not using a local DMC. I also supervised students who graduated in the last year and who wrote their final thesis.
NY Half Marathon A long-cherished wish came true. In March 2019 I ran with our kids Daan, Freek and Tijn THE NEW YORK HALF MARATHON. Running has always been one of my biggest hobbies, in which I ran The New York Marathon twice in my early years, in 1999 and in 2004. How beautiful is it that before your 60th birthday you reach the finish in Central Park together with your three sons after months of hard training, To give the project some social involvement, we started a sponsorship campaign where we raised some money for "Hoodies for the Homeless", a great foundation and volunteer organization in New York that helps the homeless. New York has a huge number of homeless people who live in dire conditions, especially in winter. In the end we raised € 1500, which went entirely to the foundation.
Contact information
Pim Sybesma
Franklin Rooseveltlaan 81
4818 KB Breda
E-mail: info@pimsybesma.nl
Mobile phone:
+31 (0)6 510 44 318
