V.V.V.

The history of Aalten’s VVV is closely connected with that of Aaltens Belang, but it does not begin with that association. As early as 1892, notary John Bernard William Maitland invited local residents to discuss establishing a VVV in Aalten. Ideas included photographs of attractive places and walking maps. There is, however, no evidence yet that this initiative led to a permanent organisation at that time.

Aalten was also being promoted through organised VVV activity before the Second World War. In 1933, the Gids voor de Oost-Graafschap: Winterswijk, Aalten, Breedevoort, Dinxperlo, Lichtenvoorde was published by De Verenigde V.V.V., showing that Aalten was already part of regional tourism promotion.

After the war, the local VVV can clearly be documented as an active organisation. A 1947 annual review records that the VVV managed several campsites, which were also used by foreign visitors. That year it also organised a concert by the Arnhem Orchestra Association.

V.V.V. Aaltens Belang

The connection with Aaltens Belang remained visible for a long time. A walking map published in 1964 was issued by V.V.V. ‘Aaltens Belang’. It showed twelve walking and cycling routes as well as the swimming pool, Loohuis nature reserve and a campsite.

The 1967 Aalten municipal address directory also lists V.V.V. ‘Aaltens Belang’. Its secretariat was then based at Markt 11, where a VVV office stood. The directory gives telephone number 3052.

The VVV did more than distribute leaflets and tourist information. It also helped organise activities and visits to Aalten. In 1960, for example, Dagblad Tubantia reported that much of the preparation for a large Vaags family reunion had been the work of the VVV secretary, whom the newspaper described as highly skilled in organisational matters of this kind.

Professionalisation

During the twentieth century, tourism increasingly became the organisation’s main focus. According to later accounts, these activities were further professionalised in the mid-1980s. Aaltens Belang ceased to exist as an independent association and the tourism work continued within the VVV organisation. The exact organisational transition still requires further research.

VVV offices around the Markt

Over the years, Aalten’s VVV was based at several locations around the Markt. In 1967, the secretariat of V.V.V. ‘Aaltens Belang’ was at Markt 11, where a separate VVV office stood.

That same year there were plans for a major redevelopment of the Markt. Much of the municipal offices complex was to be demolished. The plans for the cleared site included a new VVV office with a waiting area for bus passengers. They were never carried out, but they do show how established a presence the VVV had become in Aalten town centre.

In the 1970s, the VVV moved to Markt 4. The building had served as a police station from 1949. After the police moved to a new station on Polstraat in the early 1970s, it was used for a time as the VVV office. In 1978 the building stood empty and was sold to the Stegers family.

Markt 3, the distinctive building with the clock gable, also served for a time as a VVV office. The exact period has not yet been established. The 1967 address directory still lists the Social Services Office at this address.

In 2011, the VVV agency moved into the Aalten Museums at Markt 14, bringing the museum and tourist information service together at one location. VVV Aalten is still based there today.

Regional co-operation

In the twenty-first century, tourism was increasingly organised on a regional basis. From 2011, separate municipal financial support for local VVV offices was replaced by support through Stichting VVV Achterhoek. Local VVV agencies remained in Aalten, Bredevoort and Dinxperlo.