Celebrating 80-years of friendship with Ottawa Tourism

Like-minded approach

One of the most important clusters of both cities are defense, security and tech. As Canada’s fifth largest European trading partner and second largest source of foreign direct investment, the Netherlands is one of Canada’s most significant trade, investment and innovation partners. Ottawa and The Hague have a like-minded approach on a broad spectrum of issues, including common commitment to multilateralism and the rules-based international order. And it’s for this exact reason five years ago they formalized their partnership through the signing of their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

Renewal of partnership

After five years both cities reflected on their collaboration and decided to renew their MoU on the 23rd of April. The renewal was held during a mayoral visit from Ottawa’s Mayor to London. The renewal does not only celebrate past achievements, but also sets the course for future collaboration, ensuring continued success and innovation in the business events and travel industry for both cities.

Looking forward

The goal of the partnership is to identify and win business events that are strategically aligned to both destinations through:

• Joint sales activity through a variety of channels, including live industry events.
• Creation of joint research and intelligence focused on mutually relevant sectors.
• Identification of new clients where both cities would be of interest.
• Identification and introduction to historic clients of either city that would interest the other.

Michael Crockatt, President & CEO, Ottawa Tourism, expressed his enthusiasm for the continued collaboration, stating, "This renewed agreement marks not just a continuation, but a strengthening of our fruitful partnership with The Hague & Partners Convention Bureau. Over the past five years, we have seen remarkable mutual benefits, new business wins and commercial growth as part of the partnership. This was particularly true during the challenging times of the COVID-19 crisis, during which we were able to share best practice and knowledge to support each other."

Bas Schot, Head of The Hague & Partners Convention Bureau, echoed these sentiments: "Our collaboration with Ottawa Tourism is a testament to international cooperation and innovation.  A particular example is the creation of the Hybrid City Alliance, which was born out of the Ottawa / Hague collaboration but went on to include more than 25 cities around the world, leading to the winning of an ICCA Best Marketing Award, setting a benchmark in the global meetings industry."

Mark Sutcliffe, Mayor of Ottawa concluded: “Ottawa and The Hague were brought together by history more than 75 years ago. We have built an incredible relationship that has led to some terrific results. This agreement will ensure our successful collaboration continues and that we will work effectively together to attract events and visitors to both cities. I'm excited to see the results for both Ottawa and The Hague.”

The renewal not only celebrates past achievements but also sets the course for future collaboration, ensuring continued success and innovation in the business events and travel industry for both cities.

About The Hague & Partners

The Hague & Partners is the official marketing & acquisition organisation for the promotion of The Hague, focused on residents, visitors, conferences, businesses, and institutions. Discover more about the services of The Hague & Partners Convention Bureau.