The Netherlands is looking at a 15 per cent rise in the number of Indian visitors this year, as it undertakes a slew of initiatives to promote the country as a preferred destination.

The country had 1,27,000 visitors from India in 2016, Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC) said.

"We are expecting a 15 per cent rise in number of visitors from India to 1,45,000 for the current year", NBTC Holland Marketing Global Travel Trade Manager Carola Muller - van Rijn told PTI.

India, last year was one of the fastest growing source markets for the Netherlands, she added. "We are trying to ensure that people visit many more places in the Netherlands throughout the year. We are planning to promote our country by means of different themes such as art theme, flower theme and water theme," Muller said. NBTC Holland Marketing in collaboration with its partners is also organising city sales missions in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore to educate travel trade partners here about the tourism offerings of the Netherlands, she added.

When asked which are the biggest source markets for the Netherlands, Muller said: "The top markets are Germany, Belgium, the UK, the US and France".

The tourism board is planning to link various themes to make people aware here that the Netherlands has more to offer than the popular destinations such as Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam, she added.

NBTC is responsible for branding and marketing the Netherlands nationally and internationally. Using the 'Holland' brand, NBTC promotes the country as an attractive destination for holidays, business meetings and conventions.