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Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab Rotterdam is a city lab located near the Zuidplein shopping centre. Together with students and organisations, we explore the ways in which tourism and leisure activities can contribute positively to the city.

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In our view, tourism and recreation are not stand-alone activities, which is why we collaborate with local authorities, businesses, residents, entrepreneurs, researchers and students. On the basis of projects, we investigate how tourism in Rotterdam can be blended with education, work, sports, culture and healthcare with the objective of making both elements and the city better.

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  • Uitzicht op Rotterdam Zuid vanaf Euromast.
    View of Rotterdam South from the Euromast. Photo: Iris van den Broek
  • Cyclist on the Kop van Zuid. Photo: Iris van den Broek
10The number of inhabitants in the municipality of Rotterdam has increased by 57,658 (rounded off to 10 percent): from 592,939 in 2010 to 650,597 in 2020.
2030The number of international tourists in the Netherlands is expected to increase by 50 percent by 2030. This calls for a new approach, with the common interests of visitors, businesses and residents on top of mind.
14The municipality of Rotterdam is divided into 14 areas (from Hoek van Holland to Prins Alexander) and 71 districts.
2020In the second quarter of 2020, there were 71,000 guests in Rotterdam. This is 78.4 percent less than last year: when 329,000 visitors visited the city in the same period.

Our research results and projects demonstrate how tourism can be used to find a solution to urban issues. The results are of interest to anyone involved in tourism and leisure activities in a city.

Take a look at our projects.

BlogUrban Leisure & Tourism Lab Rotterdam

Presentation on “Accessible tourism in the light of the new urban tourism”

On 18 October, Veroniek Maat gave a presentation on 'Accessible tourism in the light of New Urban Tourism' during the webinar 'Accessiblity and Inclusion in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandamic' by NOUTUR (New Perspectives in Tourism and Leisure), the research group of Universidad Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). Veroniek has been working as a project manager and researcher for the New Urban Tourism research group at Inholland University of Applied Sciences since August 2022. Her expertise is particularly on tourism and inclusion, which she gained while managing her company called 'Accessible Travel Netherlands' (ATN). Via this inbound tour operator, she organised trips and services in the Netherlands for physically and visually impaired visitors from abroad. Besides developing and offering these services, she was involved in several national and international projects on tourism and inclusion.

StudenblogUrban Leisure & Tourism Lab Rotterdam

Last Studioday

On December 22, the last Studio Day was celebrated in which the students of the Urban Leisure and Tourism lab presented their final projects to the rest of the class. Many stakeholders were invited and everyone enjoyed this event. The groups showed very different and original proposals that left no one indifferent. In addition, they showed how they test their projects, so it was very interesting for all the guests to see if their projects can last in time and be useful for Rotterdam South. 

  • Close-up of the Luchtsingel. Photo: Iris van den Broek
  • Stationsplein. Photo: Iris van den Broek
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At the Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab Rotterdam we collaborate closely with city partners such as the municipality, businesses and sectors including healthcare, education, sports and culture. Would you like to join us? Find out who is already working in the lab.

More about our network

If there is an issue that you would like to investigate with us or you think your organisation could contribute to one of our projects, or if you would you like to put a city quarter on the map by organising an event that would attract visitors and be relevant to your neighbourhood at the same time.

Please contact us