“In Lelystad and the surrounding area we have much more touristy charm than the cruise world currently realizes. We are also becoming easier to reach and there are beautiful sights and nice hospitality establishments. But we have been too modest for too long, while recreation and tourism will become increasingly important for our economy. We now have a promising strategic plan in place to attract more visitors to our vibrant and exciting city. ” Speaking is alderman Ed Rentenaar of Lelystad. Among other things, he is responsible for stimulating tourism in the city. River cruise is an essential part of his policy. There are good contacts with the cruise lines, Amsterdam Marketing and Amsterdam Cruise Port. The alderman sees that Amsterdam wants to spread out the cruise guests over the region and knows that his city can absorb some of this overflow. " we can respond well with our tourist attractions In Lelystad," says Rentenaar. Selling points The plan focuses on four tourist selling points. The first is in the growth opportunities of Lelystad Airport. Now that Amsterdam is facing a capacity issue, Lelystad can offer an alternative or additional turnaround port for river cruise vessels. "Cruisers have already arranged their overnight stay on board their ship. But when they arrive or leave, we want to have enough hotels available so that they can stay here overnight. In the future, the cruise passenger will be able to fly to Lelystad for their holiday and go aboard the ship ", says the alderman. Water and nature National Park “New Land” is a second point that is highlighted in the strategic plan. Lelystad is thinking about how nature loving tourist can enjoy this special piece of nature responsibly. The development of an access route with the main gate in Lelystad near the Oostvaardersplassen ensures that visitors can experience this piece of nature without disturbing the vulnerable parts. There is also an educational outdoor centre where visitors can go for more information. (foto: Jasper Pluim, City Marketing Lelystad) Shopping and culture With approximately 2.5 million visitors a year, Batavia Stad Fashion Outlet is an popular attraction in Flevoland, but also Batavialand Museum that tells the fascinating history of draining the Zuiderzeepolders, the museum on board the Batavia ship and the modern Aviodrome aviation museum will fascinate the cruise passengers. Lelystad, has attractive options that will certainly entertain cruise passengers, "says Alderman Rentenaar. Modern port Even before the plan was fully developed, Lelystad already counted 84 calls last year, which is a slight growth compared to previous years. In the Bataviahaven, the facilities for water and energy (power lock, shore power) have been extended and modernized. "The state of the art port facilities can also accommodate the larger river cruise vessels with a length of 135 meters. There is now room for six of these larger cruise ships at the same time. The larger cruise ships can dock in Lelystad, because the locks are large enough here. It is remarkable that because of tourism, the people from Lelystad themselves also look at their city differently. They have been able to work and live here for a long time, now they can also enjoy and relax more and more. Of course, we cannot realize everything at once, but step by step we are going to achieve our goals. We have a good feeling about it in Lelystad. " Lelystad on youtube: