Introduction to Holland

Holland is rather small, the surface area only 41 52 square kilometers. Holland's official name is the Kingdom of Netherlands and the capital city of Holland is Amsterdam. It has a population of 16.6 million and is the densest country in Europe and one of the densest countries in the world. It consists of the Netherlands itself and six islands in the Caribbean sea. Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles.

 Holland is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system, and its government consist of the Queen as well as the ministers. The Netherlands has a coalition government, a land of compromise, with Queen Beatrix the head of state. In Netherlands, The ethnic groups are predominantly Dutch however there are other communities such as Moroccans, Turks, Antillean and Surinamese from the Dutch Caribbean. In terms of religion, 27% of the Dutch are Roman Catholics, 17% are Protestants, 6% are Muslim 1% Hindu and 1% Buddhist. The Netherlands is relatively a multicultural country but  is more prevalent in the larger cities. For instance, In Amsterdam alone, there are about 200 over different nationalities.

 We shall further explore the culture and traditions of Netherlands such as their culture, their traditions and practices, their indigenous groups, their languages, their mode of education, their leisure activities and what is the country known for? 

Culture of Holland ( Freedom, creativity and Innovation)

The Dutch culture is rich, dynamic and vivid especially in arts and expression.

People

The Dutch are passionately liberal and believe that people are free to do whatever they want so long as it does not inconvenient others. The Calvinist tradition have an influence of Dutch character as see themselves as sober, hardworking, level headed and to a certain extent unable to enjoy themselves without feel guilty. Netherlands is crowded and people tend to be more reserved with strangers. They treasure their privacy as it is a rare commodity but this does not mean they are antisocial. Many Dutch live independent and busy lives and live on strict schedules. Socializing is usually done at home through clubs and in circles of old friends which can make it difficult for foreigners to "break in". The Dutch do not just invite anybody to their home but if they do, it will mean you're a friend for life. 

The Netherlands is a world leader in the field of art and culture. The arts, in every form, flourish in a country that has outstanding museums and an impressive variety of classical and innovative music and theatre. 

Arts 

The Dutch take justifiable pride in what their art. Much of which can be admired in the museums of Amsterdam, The Hague, Leiden, Utrecht, Haarlem and Rotterdam. In fact Holland has almost 1000 museums and is the country with the highest density of museums in the world. Some of the famous museums are Rijksmuseum and the Vincent Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, the Museum Bojimans-Van Beuningen is Rotterdam and Mauritshuis in the Hague.

Famous painters include Hieronymus Bosch, Rembrandt van Rijn, Frans Hals, Johannes Vermeer and Vincent Van Gogh. 

One of Van Gogh's famous paintings.

"Starry nights"

Rembrandt. "Night watch"

Contemporary Dutch artists such as Ger Van Elk, Marlene Dumas, etc... are also well represented in international events such as the Biennale in Venice and the Documenta in Kassel.

MusicThe Dutch also treasure music and in the Netherlands there are many orchestras, based in towns and cities throughout the country. Thus today the Royal Cocertgebouw Orcherstra in Amsterdam and the Residentie Orchestra in The Hague are two of the finest and famous ensembles in the world. Opera flourishes in the Netherlands. There are several music festivals in the Netherlands such as the Holland festival, a renowned music festival held in Amsterdam in June yearly. There is also the Early Music Festival held annually in Utrecht that features medival and baroque music and the North Sea Jazz Festival that is the largest and famous jazz festival in Europe.

Architecture and DesignThe Netherlands is renowned for their architecture. No fewer than 50 000 buildings are listed monuments. Amsterdam's 17th and 18th century canal-side houses are world famous. Well known architects include Aldo van Eyck, Herman Hertzberger, Wim Quist, Pi de Bruyn, Rem Koolhaas and Jo coenen. The simplicity of Dutch design is reflected in a variety of everyday objects from postage stamps to waste bins, traffic signs, trains and office equipment.  The Netherlands is seen as a mecca for artists. It attracts many young designers, architects and artists who come especially to Amsterdam to work in a climate of artistic freedom, dialogue and innovation. Creativity is what counts in the Netherlands.

Amsterdam's "dancing houses" of falling architecture 

LiteratureThe Netherlands has a rich literary heritage and has produced many well known writers. The influence of the middle ages, 17th century gave rise to many traditional epic tales and the birth to many acclaimed writers.

Post war literature was long dominated by three eminent novelists mainly Williem Frederik Hermans, Harry Mulisch and Gerard Reve. Also the popular Diary of Anne Frank. 

FilmThe Netherlands has a relatively small film industry, which produces around 20 feature films a year, some in  association with other countries. A few have won international awards. In 1996, Marleen Gorris won an Oscar for Antonia's Line and Mike van Diem did the same for Character in 1998. There are also several film festivals held in the Netherlands such as Rotterdam International Film Festival every February, Amsterdam's International Documentary film festival every December.

DanceThe Netherlands is a world leader in the field of modern dance. The troupe of the Nederlands Dans Theater in Den Haag leaps to international audiences. The National Ballet in Amsterdam performs ballet from the classical repertoire but also the works for 20th century choreographers such as Van Dantzig, Van Maanen etc... The Hague's biennial Holland Dance festival features some of the most outstanding dance productions in the world. The Springdance Festival in Utrecht and the Cadance Festival in the Hague annually holds festivals that showcases modern dance.

 

Websites used: 
http://www.theresidenceschicago.com/blog/?p=645

Books used:

Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International information and Communication Division, The Hague (2004) Focus on the Netherlands

Traditions of the Netherlands

There are many traditions that the Dutch treasure and value and these are some of the popular traditions that the Dutch still withhold.

First, Carnival or Carnaval is held 40 days before Easter, during February/ March. The Carnival has been celebrated since medieval times and was modernized after world war II. During the Carnival, party goers will dress in costumes and parade the streets. Locals will be bizarrely caricatured in papier-mache figures and songs are sung poking fun, for example, at the local mayor. This festival is prominent particularly in Southern Netherlands, mostly in the Catholic provinces of Netherlands. It is customary to eat herring on Ash Wednesday, which traditionally marks the end of Carnival.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNjomLaljk0&feature=related
Watch this video of the Carnaval parade in 2007

Another traditional feast of the Netherlands is Queen's day or "Koninginnedag". This is celebrated in honour of the Queen's birthday. However, this day 30th of April is not the birthday of Queen Beatrix, the current Queen of Netherlands. The celebration is to celebrate the birthday of her mother, Queen Juliana.

The Queen decided to keep this date, because her own birthday (January, the 31th) is in the winter. It is a national holiday on April 30th and the entire country wears orange. Events and celebrations are held throughout the country with drinking, flea market activities, music and dance.

The Royal family will also visit one or two towns each year.

 

Queen Beatrix waving to the crowd in Makkum

Princess Maxima

One traditional festivity the Netherlands is the feast of Saint Nicholas or Sinterklass. It is celebrated on the evening before Sinterklaas' birthday on December 5, especially in families with little children. Sinterklass is the basis of the mythical Snata Claus in the United States.

Traditionally, in the weeks between Sinterklass arrival and 5 December, before going to bed, children put their shoes next to the fireplace chimney of the coal-fired stove or fireplace. In modern times, they may put them next to the central heating unit. They leave the shoe with a carrot or some hay in it and a bowl of water nearby "for Sinterklaas' horse", and the children sing a Sinterklaas song. The next day they will find some candy or a small present in their shoes. Of course Sinterklass does not exist but children are excited about this tradition and parents are the ones who leave candies and present in their shoes.

Sinterklass and his Black Peters.

Sinterklaas isnt just for small children but for grown-ups and older children as well. It is a day of giving and receiving gifts, much like on Christmas, but now the presents are like a surprise. It is a gift hidden within a product of tinkering, aimed at giving the gift the appearance of something completely different, accompanied by a  funny poem. It serves to embarrass the addressee by reminding him or her of some embarrassing moments in the past year, or to point out a general failure of character in a mocking way. It is a day to get even with anybody for anything, but it is mostly played with family or friends.

Remembrance day is another tradition as well. Every year at 8pm on the 4th of May, there will be two minutes of silence throughout the country to commemorate those who died during the WW II.  The fallen from WW II are honoured in an Amsterdam ceremony with a commemorative service held at the National Monument on Dam Square in Amsterdam with speeches and the laying of wreaths.

Liberation day is celebrated the day after Remembrance day on the 5th of May. However, it is celebrated on a grand scale every five years with Festivals and celebrations. Liberation day is to mark the end of the occupation by the Nazis during World War II.

New year in the Netherlands is very exciting and interesting as their New Year traditions has been brought down by Dutch settlers and preserved and cherished till today. The age-old tradition to visit friends and families on New Year's Day. Mothers and sisters prepare delectable dishes with the best silver and china at tables. 

Unique among the various New Year Traditions in Netherlands is the New Year's Swim on New Year's Day. At noon thousands of people dive into the freezing cold North Sea. The largest dive is held at the beach of Scheveningen, where 10.000 people plunge into the sea. This tradition is observed not only for fun and recreation but also to ensure good luck and health on the ensuing days of the New Year. 

In the Netherlands, people burn Christmas trees on street bonfires and ignite colorful fireworks to herald in the New Year. This practice is also considered to be a means of driving away the bad spirits of the old year. There goes a belief that anything in the shape of a ring symbolizes good luck, since it indicates completion of the cycle of a year. That is why there is a custom to have donuts on New Year's Day to usher in good luck and cheer. 

http://www.nlplanet.com/almanac/carnival

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/people/royalwatch/features/article_1402788.php/In_photos_Netherlands_Queens_Day?page=5

http://www.holland.com/global/activities/events/januari2011/newyearsdive.jsp

http://www.123newyear.com/newyear-traditions/new-year-traditions-netherlands.html

Books used:

Bedford N & Sellars S. (2007) Lonely Planet. The Netherlands.

Indigenous people of Holland

There are no indigenous people in the Netherlands. However, the less linguistic and minorities are the Frisians who inhibit the Northern Province of Netherlands.

A brief history about the Frisians

The earliest record of indigenous Frisians inhabiting their land are from 700 BC. Up until at least the fifth century their tribal lands included the entire North Sea coast of Holland. In the eighth century they were annexed by the Frankish empire, and then won their independance again during the Middle Ages, spending the next 700 years as a unilingual and autonomous people. Then in 1579 Friesland was taken over by the United Dutch Republic, and Dutch language was introduced to replace Friesian.

However, many Frisians fought to maintain and reestablish their aboriginal language, and in 1993 Frisian became a mandated subject in primary schools and secondary schools in Friesland. Today both Dutch and Frisian languages are used in the community. 

Currently, there are 550 000 Frisians in Friesland.  The Frisians value their independence as a unique ethnic group and Friesland is the only province of the Netherlands to retain its own language. The inhabitants of Friesland considers themselves to be Frisians in the first place and Netherlanders in the second place. 

The Frisian is primarily an agriculture province.  Many Frisians living in inland areas work on small family farms, raising crops or dairy cattle. The dairy products, construction, and tourist industries are also important employers.

The Frisian minority does not have its “own” government structures. There are the regular provincial and local government structures that facilitate the Frisian language in the province of Friesland. There are, of course, several civil society organizations lobbying for more autonomy for the province, defending culture, tradition and customs, or promoting protection of heritage sites.

The traditional old-fashioned Frisian farm house consists of modest-sized living quarters. These are connected to a barn by a narrow section containing a kitchen, milk cellar, and butter-churning area. The living quarters are generally divided into an all-purpose family room and a formal parlor where visitors are received. Tile roofs have largely replaced the older thatched roofs.

Like other Dutch people, the Frisians wear modern Western-style clothing for both casual and formal occasions. One difference, however, is their preference for wooden shoes. They wear the modern variety, made of lightweight poplar (a kind of wood) and generally painted black with leather trim.
Websites used:
http://www.suite101.com/content/netherlands-indigenous-people-a10146

Languages of Holland

Dutch is the National language of Holland. However, English is spoken by almost everyone. The Dutch speak German and French as well. Dutch is the mother tongue of the the Dutch people as well as Flemish people. The Flemish people are Dutch speaking nationals of Belgium. Dutch is used in schools and in government institutions.

 Dutch is the mother language of more than 22 million people in Netherlands and in Belgium. In Northwest France, around 60 000 speak a Dutch dialect. Dutch language is very influential as it has influenced other languages especially in shipping, waterworks and agriculture. Even in Indonesia, some lawyers and historians speak Dutch due to the historical ties in the past. Dutch was even the basis for Afrikaans which is the language spoken in South Africa. There are a few minor languages spoken in the Netherlands such as Turkish and Arabian. In fact, in around 250 universities, Dutch is taught and in many European countries like Belgium, France and Germany, pupils chose Dutch as their second language.

In the province of Friesland, they speak a separate language. Frisian is spoken and is the first language by 2.2% or 350 000 of the population of  Northern Netherlands, Friesland which is recognised as their official language. It is somewhat similar to English and the Scandinavian languages. However Dutch is used in schools in Friesland.

Books used:

Bedford N & Sellars S. (2007) Lonely Planet. The Netherlands.

Janin H & Eil R. (2003) Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company. Culture shock Netherlands

Mode of Education

Since the foundation of Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815, the government has been responsible for ensuring that all Dutch children receive a decent education. Not that is has a monopoly of schools or the right to dictate what is taught in them. Under the 1814 Constitution, any group of people may set up a school based on religious or philosophical beliefs or educational principles.

The government is definitely responsible for supervising the educational system. It is compulsory for children in the Netherlands to attend school full-time from five years old and to attend school part time between the ages of sixteen and eighteen. The subjects taught in all types of school are laid down by law as an attainment target. This enables the government to ensure that qualifications are uniform throughout the country.

Schools set up by public authorities are called public authority schools. All other schools that are founded by private bodies are called private schools. More than three quarters of schools in Netherlands are private, they are still eligible for government funding so long as they meet a criteria.

In 2001, the Netherlands spent 5.3% of its Gross domestic product on education. Education is free of charge for children up to sixteen years old. But the parents of secondary school pupils have to pay for textbooks and other materials.

In the Netherlands, few Dutch schools, colleges or universities provide accommodation for their students, and there are no dress codes of school uniforms.

Primary education: Primary school in Netherlands caters for children aged four to twelve. It has an eight year education system and curriculum that focuses on pupil's emotional, intellectual and creative development along with the acquisition of essential social, cultural and physical skills. Every primary school draws up its own school work plan on the basis of conditions specified by a government.

Secondary education: Children from the age of twelve are eligible for admission for secondary education. There are three types of educations available in their secondary school system. First, the Pre-vocational secondary school education (VMBO); Senior general secondary education (HAVO) ; and pre university education (VWO)

VMBO takes 4 years and leads on to secondary vocational education (MBO).

HAVO is a 5 year course and leads on to higher professional education (HBO).

VWO takes 6 years and leads to university (WO).

The pupils in the first two to three years of secondary school are all taught the same core curriculum, consisting of 15 subjects.

Higher education comprises higher professional (HBO) as well as the university education (WO) which is a bachelor master degree structure. The HBO will take four more years while the WO will take three more years. Graduates with a bachelor degree can then take a Master's degree and the Master's courses usually take between one and two years depending on nature of study.

Many people pursue higher education. Nearly 3.5 million of the total population of 16 million have attended some form of higher-education programme. Of the younger generation, one out of three school-graduates completes a university degree.

The Netherlands has nine general universities, three technological universities and one agricultural university.
Books used:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International information and Communication Division, The Hague (2004) 
Focus on the Netherlands

Leisure activities of the Dutch

People work on average no more than 40 hours a week and they get at least five-weeks of holiday each year. They value their spare time and it seems that the historical Calvinistic values of the Dutch are almost forgotten. People tend to spend more time with their friends and family, engaging in sports, travelling and enjoying good food and drinks. Gezellig is a unique Dutch noun used to describe quality time with one’s family or intimate friends in a cosy environment.

Sports

The Netherlands is one sport-happy country. About 7 million Dutch engage in some form of sport activity so much so that there are thousands of sports club in the Netherlands with a total membership of about 5.7million. The Dutch love to participate in football, ice skating, cycling, tennis, swimming, gymnastics, volleyball, hockey, golf and handball. But the more popular sports are as follows:

Football Football is the Dutch national game and the Dutch are football fanatics. The National football team competes in the World Cup and produces world class players such as Ruud Gullit and Dennis Bergkamp. Passion for football is immensely high, the national football association KNVB, counts a million members making it the country's largest sporting organization. 

The Dutch Football Team

Thousands of Dutch soccer fans rooting for their soccer team before the Euro 2008

Skating

Ice Skating is another popular sport in the Netherlands. Thousands of people hit the ice skating rink when the country's lakes freezes over. However when the lakes are not frozen, there are dozens of ice rinks with Olympic size tracks and areas for figure skating. The most famous skating event is the Friesland's 220km long Elfstedentocht or Eleven town tour. It is not just a favourite past time of both the young and old but also a professional sport in the Netherlands. The Dutch has won nine medals of three were gold in the 2006 winter Olympics in speed skating. 

At the Kinderdijk canal in the Nederlands with thousands of joyous ice skaters who descended on the frozen canal

Cycling

The Dutch love to cycle, for leisure and pleasure as well as get from A to B. Around 70% of the Dutch take their bicycle on a recreational day trip.

Tennis

Tennis is also another popular sport in the Netherlands. With 700 000 members in their tennis association, it is the second largest sporting organization in the country.

Arantxa Rus, Dutch Women's tennis player

Festivals & Events in Netherlands 

There are many festivals in Netherlands ranging from music to dance to film to bizarre festivals such as the Cannabis Cup in Amsterdam. However, I have chosen several festivals that were more interesting.

Amsterdam roots festival: This festival targets music enthusiasts as it seeks out and presents new forms and new acts within the massive range that world music offers. Fans can sample the great variety and richness of music from around the globe, absorbing and learning from other cultures.

Amsterdam Stilleto Run: The stilleto run is a bizarre race whereby racers compete in a race over a distance of 100 metres. The catch is that racers have to wear at least 9cm in height heels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-LXwb-Le0A

Holland Dance festival: It is the largest Dance festival that is hosted in Hague every two years since 1987. In every Holland dance festival it strives to showcase the development of modern contemporary dance.

Holland Festival: The country's oldest and biggest extravaganza for theatre, dance, film and pop music and takes place every June. 

North Sea Jazz Festival: A festival in Mid July, in Rotterdam. It is the World largest jazz festival that attracts names from around the planet and a huge crowd.

Smashing Valentine: The Smashing Valentine tournament is an indoor tennis tournament with alliance with the International Gay and Lesbian Tennis Alliance tour. More than 250 gay men, lesbians, heterosexuals, bisexuals and transgender people from the Netherlands, Europe and beyond are taking part. 

Gay Pride Canal Parade: On the first Saturday of August, one of the world's most popular and visually incredible gay parades in the world. It is the only water borne gay parade in the world, with lots of pride showing on the outlandish floats and colorful boats.

Watch this video to have an insight of what the parade really is about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAS7Ia06VqM

Trance Energy: This is a dance event featuring DJs from around the world such as Armin Van Buuren, Tiesto, Above and beyond and etc... It is held once annually at the Jaarbeurs Convention center in Utrecht, Netherlands. It is so popular with the Dutch that the event is usually sold out.

FFWD Dance Parade or Fast Forward Dance Parade happens in Downtown Rotterdam whereby Rotterdam lets down its hair in a big way and turns into one big open air techno club in Early August.

Websites used: 

http://www.2camels.com/festivals/netherlands.php
http://nieuws.nijmegenonline.nl/ffwd-dance-parade-rotterdam/ 

What is Holland known for?

Many things come into our mind when we think of Holland.

But no doubt when we think of Holland, we would associate Holland with windmills and tulips.
Indeed, Holland is famous for their windmills and tulips and many other things such as their cheese, bicycles, clogs, their canals, their museums and a home to famous artists. Also not to forget, their infamous red light district and "coffeeshops".

Windmills: In Holland alone, there are approximately a thousand old fashioned working windmills and in the former island of Schokland, the fortifications around Amsterdam, the windmills of Kinderdijk-Elshout, Willemstad (in the Netherlands Antilles) and the Rietveld-Schröderhuis are all on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

Tulips: This is definitely the first thing that comes into mind when we think of Netherlands. From the end of March till the end of May, the Keukenhof flower garden which is located near the town of Lisse gathers visitors for the most fantastic flower show in the world. 


Cheese: Netherlands is well known for its cheese, it is the largest cheese exporter in the world! As well as their Dutch cheese markets. The famous cheese are Gouda and Edam. 



Bicycles: Cycling is a way of life in the Netherlands and has no less than 15 000km of cycle paths. Every Dutch person has a bike and there are about twice as many bikes as cars.


Clogs: Initially clogs which are wooden shoes were traditional footwear worn by the common people and only the rich and famous could afford comfortable and expensive shoes. Nevertheless even today, the Netherlands produces more than 3.7 million clogs a year. The most beautiful clogs are produced in Hindeloopen, Friesland. 


Canals: There are several canals of Amsterdam that carry World Heritage status. 
 

Red light district: 
Netherlands is infamously known for their red light district. Amsterdam is famous for their window prostitution at De Wallen. Rotterdam has a number of sex clubs or private houses and smaller cities like Groningen and Alkmaar have also jumped on the red light bandwagon.


De Wallen- largest Red light district



Prostitutes selling themselves through the windows

Coffeeshops:
When we think of coffeeshops we will think that its a cafe that sells coffee, however the Coffeeshops in the Netherlands are where the sale of cannabis for personal consumption by the public is tolerated by the local authorities. In the Netherlands, 105 out of 443 municipalities have at least one coffeeshop. The emergence of coffeeshops has led to the High times cannabis cup.




Websites used:
http://www.holland.com/global/
http://www.amsterdam.info/red-light-district/
http://www.amsterdam.info/coffeeshops/

The “Disney” in the modern society of the Netherlands

 Disneyization refers to “the process by which the principles of the Disney theme parks are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the rest of the world” (Bryman 2004)

Disneyization argues that the rest of the world is mirroring theme parks and the four main dimensions of Disneyization are Theming, Hybrid consumption, merchandising and Performative labour.

Theming
Theming represents the most obvious dimension of Disneyization. More and more areas of economic life are becoming themed. I will be discussing two prominent examples that displays Disneyization and that will be Efteling theme park and the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.

For example, the Efteling Theme park. Efteling theme park is the largest and oldest theme park in the Netherlands. Originally the park catered for  children with a fairy tale theme. In over fifty years the park has evolved from a nature park with a playground and just a Fairy tale forest, into a full-size theme park along the lines of Disneyland. Currently, it is twice as large as the original Disneyland in California and predates it by three years and now, Efteling caters not only to children but adults as well with its cultural, romantic and nostalgic themes and its variety of amusement rides.

The park is divided into four themed areas though these are not entirely comparable to Disney's 'lands.'. Previously, the parked areas were just North, South, East and West. However over the years, North was changed to Reizenrijk (Travel Realm), West became Marerijk (Fairy Realm), East became Ruigrijk (Rough Realm), and South became Anderrijk (Differ Realm).

In fact, even the restaurants in Efteling theme park are themed from the Underwater theme, to the old colonial India theme to the empire theme.

Snapshot of Efteling Theme park

In Reizenrijk (Travel Realm), they have this particular ride called the "Carnival Festival".  To me, it is another version of "Its a small world" in Disneyland. Carnival Festival is a indoor ride whereby visitors are transported to 15 different countries such as France, China, Alaska, Mexico, etc... whereby visitors admire the costumes of the countries on their 270 dolls. If you have been on "its a small world" before, the layout is exactly the same. Visitors are transported to different countries such as Hawaii, China, Iceland, etc.. and they use the dolls as well to represent the costumes and music.

Disneyland Paris consulted Efteling theme park during their construction and design phase and hence the similarity to Disneyland. I feel that Disney is very powerful in the economic world and every country that owns a theme park work towards being a Disneyland. It seems that theme parks believe that without a theme, a theme park wouldn't be called a theme park. True, the power of theming recreates another world for people and attracts both adults and children. However I feel that Efteling theme park has over done it with the inclusion of so many different themes in just one theme park and is a big symbol for Disneyzation.

Gottdiener (1997) suggests that airports are increasingly becoming themed environments and this is rather prominent in Amsterdam's Schiphol airport.
Amsetdam's Schiphol airport is the main international airport in the Netherlands. Schiphol airport is the 4th best airport in Skytrax's grading system.
In Schipol airport, there are several restaurants that are highly themed such as an Irish theme, 17th century theme as well as a sport theme.

Hybrid Consumption 
Hybrid consumption or differentiation of consumption simply means that there is a general trend whereby the forms of consumption associated with different institutional spheres become interlocked with each other and increasingly difficult to distinguish.
Taking Efteling theme park into example again, Efteling theme park has got many shops and restaurants. In fact Efteling theme park did not limit itself by being just an amusement park but expanded with the inclusion of Hotels, golf course and a theater. There are currently two hotels in Efteling. It becomes increasingly confusing because personally I feel that a golf course is completely irrelevant and then i realise how Efteling combines a night accommodation with golf and with meals and tie in with admission to the theme park. Also the other funny thing is that Efteling golf course targets business travelers as well with their Business club.

Also, the theater in Efteling theme park is one of the five main theaters in Holland. There are large musical productions every year and contains a luxurious restaurant with stage and entertainment; Theaterrestaurant Applaus. Now, the theater is separated from the park and produces professional entertainment. Everyone staying at one of the accommodations at the Efteling gets a 20% discount for shows in Theater de Efteling. This is a clear way of increasing hotel guests as this is merely emphasizing that if they stayed at their accommodation with no intention of visiting the theme park, they get an advantage. A brilliant and Disney way to lure people.

So yes I see that in Efteling theme park there is a tendency for shopping, eating, recreation, hotel accommodation and even the chance relax and do business with golf.

In Amsterdam's Schiphol airport, it is extremely prominent that hybrid consumption takes place. Schiphol airport is becoming like a shopping mall as it has a shopping plaza selling clothes, food, gifts, electronics and flowers as well as a wide range of restaurants. Schiphol has many other outrageous facilities such as an aviation theme park aviodrome that houses the biggest collection of historic aircrafts, a casino, the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam Schiphol, a library. People can even conduct wedding ceremonies in the airport with the Schiphol wedding planner. Lastly, Schiphol has its own mortuary, where the dead can be handled and kept before departure or after arrival. I feel that it is very puzzling where an airport would have so many different facilities when an airport is a place to facilitate the receiving and disembarking of passengers. But it all comes to the chance of hybrid consumption, the opportunity to spend on shopping, food and other activities.

Merchandising Merchandising refers to the promotion and sale of goods in the form of or bearing copyright images and/or logos, including such products made under licence. Efteling theme park have a point of significance in relation to merchandising as a component of Disneyization which is the vast opportunity for the sale of Efteling theme park merchandise. In Efteling them park, they have created a mascot known as the Pardoes. 

Pardoes in Efteling Theme Park
With the creation of the Pardoes, it gave rise to merchandise such as soft toys Pardoes dolls, lunch-boxes, water bottles, bags, keychains, etc... With all these merchandise, it acts a form of advertisement for Efteling theme park. Thus i feel Merchandising is a very powerful source of advertising and promotion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXxTR0xk1vI
This video shows the wide array of Pardoes merchandise one can find in the souvenir store of Efteling theme park.

With the creation of Pardoes, it gives their park and identity like how Mickey and Minnie is associated with Disneyland.

Efteling also produces its own merchandise by producing fairytale stories and releases them on DVD and CD called Sprookjes. There is even an Efteling channel on television for the hotel. After a succesful musical about Ti Ta Tovenaar (a wizzard living in a floating castle), Efteling produces a television series about it. It is clearly evident that they are portraying traits of Disneyization as create their own fantasy world like how Disney has with the emergence of Disney cartoons, princesses and fairytales.
Amsterdam Schiphol airport is a platform for the selling of variety of merchandises due to its shopping plaza. They have stores from Starbucks, Crocs, H&M, Nike, Mexx, The Body shop just to name a few. 

Performative labour
Peformative labour is the growing tendency for frontline service work to be viewed as a performance, especially one in which the deliberate display of a certain mood is seen as part of the labour involved in service work.
I am pretty sure that because of their Fairytale theme, the staff there have to behave in a certain way by smiling and greeting. They have to amplify the fairytale feeling of the theme park. By pretending to be in a fairytale world, they seem like they are in a theatrical set performing a certain role to enhance the experience for visitors of Efteling theme park.

For the Schiphol airport staff, their mission is to develop lasting talents of people who want to make a tangible contribution to the dynamics of trade and business services at an airport and believes in social agility and learning. To a certain extent, the Schiphol airport staff are performing emotional labour as they have to ever smiling as they are in the service staff and are the first people to be seen when tourists leave and enter the country. 

Websites used: 

http://www.themeparkinsider.com/reviews/efteling/
http://www.canyons.edu/Faculty/haugent/Disneyization%20of%20Society%20Article.pdf

The changes that have been brought about by the growth of tourism in the Netherlands

There are several changes that has been brought about by the growth of tourism in the Netherlands. First and foremost, the obvious which is the economic impacts tourism has resulted for the country.

Economic

Tourism in the Netherlands is a very crucial economic sector. The country receives more than 10 million foreign visitors each year, primarily from countries such as Germany, United Kingdom, Belgium and even the United States. The contribution of Tourism to Gross Domestic Product or GDP is expected to rise from 7.2% (€42 billion or US$62.1 billion) in 2010 to 7.5% (€66.4 billion or US$86.8 billion) by 2020.  Around 450 000 people are employed in the tourism sector providing for 6.5% of Netherlands total employment. Because of tourism, many jobs and new jobs are created in the tourist sector such as accommodation, restaurants and airports.

Social 
It is undeniable that the Netherlands is known for its Drug tourism. 

One can purchase and use cannabis legally in the Netherlands, which is rare for most western countries, and has led to a large number of "drug tourists" from abroad. Majority of these tourists were contributing to the economy. A quarter of the tourists visits a coffee shop, while one in ten especially come to Amsterdam to visit coffee shops. As Netherlands distinguishes between “Soft drugs” such as Cannabis is legal, people flock down to Netherlands to do drugs as it might be illegal in their country. 

However recently ironically, the new Dutch government has decided to ban foreigners from buying cannabis in Dutch cannabis coffee shops and this will have a negative impact on foreign tourism to the Netherlands. "And especially to Amsterdam, according to the Dutch Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC).” 

The reason why the government is banning foreigners from buying Cannabis is because they feel that the  "The heart of the problem is crime and disturbances surrounding the sale. We have to go back to what it was meant for: local use for those who would like it." The government feels that the drug tourist are responsible for many crimes such as pickpocketing, scam etc... 

Amsterdam, home to 223 coffee shops, is already in the process of closing some in the red light district to tackle criminal activity in the area.  The government's plans for a tourist ban, whereby only holders of a resident's pass would be allowed to buy hash, has not yet been formally put into law and no time frame has been proposed. Some Dutch border towns such as Maastricht and Terneuzen have already restricted the sale of marijuana to foreigners to limit crime and disturbances such as traffic jams.

The Netherlands coffeeshops used to sell cannabis to anyone but because of the drug tourists that has caused so many crimes and problems, the government aims to curb the problem by banning tourists from buying cannabis.
The obvious change right now is that once the ban is placed, those coffeeshops have to ensure that no foreigners are allowed to buy cannabis and they will definitely suffer losses judging that most of the patrons of coffeeshops are tourists. The more serious problems i feel are

 "back door" or illegal sales. 

Some of the other changes are development.

The Schiphol airport is the 4th largest airport and accounts for nearly 40% of total passengers movements. The airport is built as one large terminal, split into three large departure halls. The most recent of these was completed in 1994, and expanded in 2007 with a new part, named Terminal 4, although this part is not recognized as a separate building. Plans for further terminal expansion exist, including the construction of a separate new terminal between the Zwanenburgbaan and Polderbaan runways that would end the one-terminal concept. There is even a plan to build a seventh runway.
Currently there is a train station in the airport which connects passengers directly Antwerp, Brussels and Paris.
Tourism has brought about developments of the airport and even the recent 2005 development of high speed rail connection called HSL that links Randstad with France and Germany.



The Hoge Sneldheids lijn high speed railway
These developments are probably undertaken to cater and contain the influx of tourists from around the world. The developments of the airport and high speed rail does not only benefit tourists but benefits the locals as well. 

Environmental 
Massive influxes of tourists, often to a relatively small area, have a huge impact. They add to the pollution, waste, and water needs of the local population, putting local infrastructure and habitats under enormous pressure.



I will be zooming into the Netherlands Antilles which are the Islands that form part of the the Netherlands. The Netherlands Antilles consists of the islands St Eustatius, Curacao and Bonaire in the Caribbean sea. They are renowned for their abundance of marine life and corals. The environmental issues brought about by tourism are garbage recycling and reduction causing massive amounts of undisposed waste. Also there was a problem with overfishing eel to cook smoked eel in restaurants that the eel population is decreasing. Problems like careless boating, diving, snorkeling, and fishing have substantially damaged coral reefs, through people touching the reefs, stirring up sediment, and dropping anchors.Collection of corals, shells, and other marine souvenirs either by individual tourists, or local people who then sell the souvenirs to tourists - also has a detrimental effect on the local environment.This compelled the government in Netherlands Antilles to come up with a Nature and Environment policy Plan 2004-2007 to deal with waste, conserve natural resources and to increase public awareness of environmental issues as well as develop sustainable development.

Touristy behaviors have led to many environmental problems mainly in the coastal areas of the Netherlands. With the large number of tourists to such areas, the coastal areas are more prone to environmental problems and preservation and conservation is important before the entire coastal area is damaged and difficult to salvage. 

Websites used:

http://www.wttc.org/bin/pdf/original_pdf_file/netherlands.pdf

http://www.dutchdailynews.com/coffee-shop-ban/

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40238429/ns/travel-news/

http://www.ihatetaxis.com/airport/AMS-Schiphol-Airport/guide
http://www.gdrc.org/uem/eco-tour/envi/one.html
http://www.mina.vomil.an/Beleid/main.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/18/world/europe/18dutch.html