This is Eindhoven’s City Trip

In the changing travel landscape, sustainability is a central theme, but what does it really mean?
In recent years, we have been working on a vision for sustainable tourism. What does sustainability mean in the context of travel, and how can we shape it within our strategic framework, tourism campaigns, and content? With the This is Eindhoven’s City Trip campaign, we show that sustainability is about more than just an ecological footprint. It’s about inspiring people to explore along the way, before ultimately arriving in the city of the future.

The journey becomes the destination

Together with Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe and the Travel Foundation, we launched a study that resulted in a new vision of travel, Eindhoven-style. Previously, our focus was on what's going on around town. We weren’t looking at how our visitors travel to Eindhoven. If we include that part of the experience, we can enrich their travels and make it more sustainable.

The sustainable city trip is built on three anchors:

• Travel becomes part of the stay
• Stay becomes part of the use
• Use becomes the ultimate experience

We broaden our perspective not only on the literal journey, but also on the very concept of sustainability. Sustainability is more than your ecological footprint. It is also about economic and social aspects, such as discovering local entrepreneurs and connecting with locals. Sustainability can also mean making the most of your trip, experiencing as much as you can, while you're there. Your trip begins the moment you close your front door.

Renewed focus

City marketing organizations are set up to promote their city. Naturally, their inspiration usually reaches only as far as the city limits. The only problem? Visitors don’t see things in such black-and-white terms. Spending a few days in Copenhagen? Chances are, you’ll also hop over to Malmö. That’s where an opportunity lies.
What if we joined forces? By involving other cities, we can amplify our message around making tourism more sustainable. Collaboration is nothing new to us in Eindhoven. So why not apply the same principle to our campaigns? It strengthens our strategic direction on sustainable tourism, inspires the field, and most importantly: serves our audience.

This is Eindhoven’s City Trip: a modern-day pilgrimage

So what does that look like? We don’t promote a city trip to Eindhoven as a 'sustainable city trip', sustainability is woven into everything we do. This is Eindhoven’s City Trip is like a modern-day pilgrimage: a journey to the future, with Eindhoven, the city of the future, as the final destination.

Our focus is on train travel, and from the Netherlands and Belgium we highlight three routes:

• Rotterdam - Tilburg - Eindhoven
• Nijmegen - Den Bosch - Eindhoven
• Antwerpen - Breda - Eindhoven

Of course, you can travel directly to Eindhoven. But with this campaign, we encourage visitors to make a stop along the way. In each city, we share tips that tap into Eindhoven’s energy: innovation, design, and hospitality. Since visitors are passing through anyway, why not add another destination to their trip? Just like a traditional pilgrimage, there is always an endpoint. That endpoint is Eindhoven. When there, you discover design, get a glimpse of the future, and feel the city’s energy.

Influencer weekend

We kicked off the campaign during the first weekend of September, together with a group of content creators from the Netherlands and Belgium. Together, they embarked on a modern-day pilgrimage with Eindhoven as the final destination. Along the way, we let them experience what the ultimate city trip to Eindhoven looks like. In the cities along the route, the influencers made stops at locations that reflect Eindhoven’s mindset, something we also featured in the content on thisiseindhoven.com.

For example, the influencers from Antwerp stopped in Breda, where they visited Algorithmic Perfumery to create their own innovative fragrance. The group from Amsterdam and Nijmegen made a stop in Den Bosch to visit Cor Unum. Eventually, everyone came together at the final destination of the journey: Eindhoven, the city of the future.

On Friday evening, the group was welcomed with a design dinner at Keukenconfessies. On Saturday, they planted a tree together at PHOOD and immersed themselves in the world of design at Piet Hein Eek. To wrap up the day, they experienced Eindhoven’s nightlife at Otomoto. On Sunday, they enjoyed a private visit to the Van Abbemuseum. The ultimate city trip to Eindhoven concluded with a special final meal in the Paterskerk, under the light installation Shylight by Studio Drift.

Cross-media campaign: your trip starts here

In addition to the influencers’ content, the campaign is visible in multiple locations across the Netherlands and Belgium. We launched online ads, not only through our own channels but also externally in collaboration with DPG Media. With travel as the campaign’s main theme, we had a strong reason to partner with NS, the Dutch Railways. On various digital screens at train stations throughout the Netherlands, the campaign appeared with messages such as: 'Your trip to Eindhoven starts in Rotterdam', or one of the other cities.

Content

Thisiseindhoven.com: one big platform for tips on visiting Eindhoven. For the campaign, we mapped out three routes complete with tips. In addition, we updated all content related to planning a city trip. On Plan Your Trip, you’ll find all the practical travel information, while the ultimate city trip to Eindhoven guides you to the right inspiration, whether it’s museums or breakfast spots. As outlined in our content strategy, thisiseindhoven.com is for evergreen content, while our @eindhovencity socials are for storytelling and timely content. There, we share guides tailored to the present: what does a (sustainable) city trip look like now? And what are the “ten commandments” for making the most of your city trip?

Credits at glance

We received insights on sustainable tourism from the Travel Foundation. Together with Van Eijk & Van der Lubbe, we worked on the vision and concept for the future of a city trip. Megawatt developed the concept for us, Blickfänger produced the photos and videos, and George&Harrison handled the print materials. This campaign was a collaboration with Breda Marketing, City Marketing Tilburg, Den Bosch, and many Eindhoven entrepreneurs. We thank everyone who contributed to the campaign.