The Hague first city with visitor shop with holographic mayor

The new ‘holobox’ allows visitors and residents of The Hague to stand eye-to-eye with the mayor on a daily basis. (Photo: The Hague & Partners / Guus Schoonewille)

The Hague - ‘How nice of you to come and visit this beautiful city by the sea’, with these words, from now on everyone in The Hague will be welcomed personally by Mayor Van Zanen. From today, the mayor of The Hague will be on standby as a hologram for visitors and residents at The Hague Info Store every day from 10.00 am.

The mayor can be seen in the new, interactive ‘holobox’, informing and inspiring visitors to The Hague in an innovative way. This makes The Hague the first city with this experience in a visitor information shop.

On Wednesday 2 October, the holobox was unveiled by the mayor. ‘Great fun to personally welcome all visitors to The Hague thanks to this creative technology as a hologram,’ Van Zanen said.

‘I sincerely hope the holobox will contribute to making everyone visiting The Hague feel welcome here and inspired to discover all the beauty our city has to offer.’

Tips about The Hague

Besides a welcome message from the mayor, there are five other holograms, all speaking Dutch and English. So you can come face-to-face with the three-dimensional, digital versions of Simone Hollen, who talks about the masterpieces in the Mauritshuis, city expert Remco Dörr who shares his personal tips about The Hague.

There will also be The Hague world champion freerunning Tangui van Schingen, talking about the sports route in the city, Haagse Markt stallholder Monique talking about the cosiness of Haagse Markt and Margriet Schavemaker of the Kunstmuseum Den Haag explaining the highlights of their unique (art) collection.

Eyecatcher

‘It's a real eye-catcher in the shop. It's like someone is actually talking to you,’ says Yannick Bouwhuis, shop manager of The Hague Info Store for The Hague & Partners.

‘The holobox is more than just an innovative gadget. It allows us to promote The Hague in a different way, which will appeal to a new group of visitors to discover the city. And if the store is momentarily busy and our staff are occupied, visitors can still get information in a playful way.’

Local business

The holobox is a product of The Hague company HEREweHOLO and is now on display at The Hague Info Store at The Hague Central Station. The Hague Info Store is a visitor information shop where tourists and residents can find out more about the city of The Hague.

Besides city guides and travel books, you can buy typical products, gifts and souvenirs from The Hague. The shop belongs to The Hague & Partners, the official marketing and acquisition organisation for the promotion of The Hague aimed at residents, visitors, conferences and businesses and institutions.