Participants Provincie Noord-Holland The province of Noord-Holland is 1 of the 12 provinces the Netherlands consists of. From an economic point of view it is arguably the most vital part of the Dutch economy. The province holds a strong international position in various fields. The traditional open community of the coastal province of Noord-Holland, has always attracted companies and people from all over the world. At the moment the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area alone counts 3,100 international companies and is home to 170 nationalities. Flourishing economy The second most densely populated province of the Netherlands can be roughly divided into 2 economic areas: the ‘North’, with a focus on innovative agriculture and horticulture, maritime and offshore, energy, life science, health and water. The ‘South’ is specialised in IT & media, creative industry, logistics, food & flowers and finance. Tourist hot spot To many foreign visitors and inhabitants Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, is the touristic highlight of the province of Noord-Holland. Although Amsterdam attracts approximately 6 of the in total 8,4 million annual tourists in this area, Noord-Holland has much more to offer, like the island of Texel, wonderful cities and sandy beaches along the west coast. On cycling Cycling is the most convenient way of transport in the bustling cities of Noord-Holland, Visitors from all over the world visit Noord-Holland specifically to go cycling along the coast or along the world heritage site the Dutch Water Defence Line. Noord-Holland has some typical dutch cycling cities such as Amsterdam, Haarlem Alkmaar and Hoorn, but boast some really innovative new towns where cycling was part of city planning like in Hoofddorp and Heerhugowaard. The Province of Noord-Holland owns and maintains more than 300 km of cyclepath, mostly along regional roads between cities.