Our Story 

… and the perspective Karin Elgin-Nijhuis takes while working with destinations and organisations in the field of heritage and tourism.

After combining roles at Utrecht University and working in tourism for several years, Karin trained as Internet Advisor and Developer to fully understand the opportunities and challenges new media posed to tourism organisations.

From 1999 to 2003, Karin worked as an internet consultant and Head of Consultancy and Projects of the Information and Media Services Department of the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Congresses (NBTC). She was jointly responsible for the overall strategy, development and management of www.holland.com and many city, regional and theme sites.

In 2004, Karin founded her own consultancy Elgin & Co. and soon after became an associate in TEAM Tourism Consulting. Initially, she focused on online branding and marketing and worked with a wide variety of tourism-related organisations and associations, such as NTO’s, regional and city DMOs, UNTAD and UNWTO.

While working on the third UNWTO (and ETC) publication on e-marketing for tourism destinations, she decided to enhance her understanding of effective communication by enlisting in an International Executive MSc in Corporate Communication and specialising in strategic and narrative communication, storytelling and narrative management for sustainable tourism development, visitor experience development, place and tourism destination branding, reputation management and stakeholder alignment.

Karin served in committees and advisory panels of, among others, the European Commission, ETC (European Travel Commission), IFITT (International Federation of IT and Travel & Tourism) and IIID (International Institute for Information Design.

She is a member of the Dutch National Committee of ICOMOS, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, and a voting member of ICOMOS ICTC (International Cultural Tourism Committee).

Qualifications & Associations:

• MA in History from Utrecht University (Netherlands).
• MSc in Corporate Communication and winner of the 2018 Andreas Award for Innovation in Corporate Communication from the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (Netherlands).
• Post-graduate courses and certificates: Education, UN Safety in the field, Internet Developer & Advisor, Information Strategy, E-commerce, Gamification and Storytelling.
• Partner of the UNWTO in the One Planet – Sustainable Tourism Programme.