We guide you towards change

Hi, we are Tours that Matter

We are on a mission to make the world a better place with tours that contribute to a thriving, sustainable and inclusive city.

You tell us which topic and area interests you, we design your unique Amsterdam experience

We create positive impact tours

You meet the changemakers of Amsterdam. We visit and give back to
inspiring people and local initiatives.

We talk about what matters

Covering topics like migration, colonialism, fair trade, sustainability, counterculture or innovation.

We use tours as a tool for change

You learn about the past, see the present and get inspired by the future.
You take home tools for a better world.

OUR TOURS

Our tours are more than just tours. They are our tool of protest, our way to create awareness and empowerment. To connect people with places, to inspire you to discover new perspectives. Our tours are for everyone that wants to make a change in the world and at the same time, the best way to explore Amsterdam. 

We design tours for companies, universities or anyone looking for a unique experience in Amsterdam. You tell us what interests you or which area you would like to discover! With respect, time and curiosity we collect stories and discover the eco-system of an area.

Are you ready to dive into the unique values of Amsterdam? Freedom, Diversity, Counterculture or Tolerance. A storyteller will take you around to be inspired by the city. Explore a different side Amsterdam most people never get to see. 

Or download our program here:

  • "We loved our tour with Berber. She was funny, engaging, and full of knowledge. We not only learned about the city’s rich history but also about its efforts in sustainability, including community urban agriculture and innovation labs. The tour was so much more than just a visit to important buildings—it highlighted unique initiatives like a restaurant training immigrants and a fair-trade chocolate store."

    Tedd Saunders: CEO of EcoLogical Solutions

  • “The Counterculture & Gentrification Tour by Berber was fantastic. Over 2.5 hours, we explored the intriguing NDSM shipyard in Amsterdam, full of surprising constructions, street art, and fascinating stories.”

    Traveler in Amsterdam

  • "We at CIEE Amsterdam proudly partner with Tours That Matter, bringing hundreds of students each year to explore the city through engaging and insightful tours. The guides are passionate and versatile storytellers, helping us see new sides of Amsterdam and leaving students with a deeper understanding of the city. Highly recommend!"

    CIEE Amsterdam
    Academic Program Manager

  • "I loved the tours! They were engaging, focused on local communities, and highlighted social topics, told by an amazing guide, making the experience both fun and educational. I enjoyed meeting different people throughout the tour and learning about their work."

    George Sebastian
    Student

  • During their excursion, our students went on a tour organised by Tours that Matter around 'the other Amsterdam', which consisted of parts of Amsterdam that tourists often don't visit. The tour was filled with traces of Amsterdam's dark past, included a hidden island , and explored the innovative developments around the Marineterrein. The excursion ended with a workshop during which the students had to look for crazy out of the box ideas related to reduce litter in a nearby park. Overall, a very successful and educational excursion!

    Wageningen University & Research

We develop customised tours for businesses, universities and basically anyone looking for an
in-depth experience.

These are some of the people
we have inspired so far:

More about Tours that Matter

Find out more about us by getting to know our team, reading about our story and motivation and learning about why regenerative tourism is so important.

MEET THE TEAM

Berber
Tourdesigner & Storyteller

Berber is a traveling rebel driven by a passion for justice. With a background in law, political philosophy, and human rights, she blends her academic knowledge with storytelling skills, sharing insights gained from her global adventures.

Anouschka
Partnerships & Community Builder

Anouschka is a global citizen and community builder, using tourism to connect people. With degrees in Development Studies and Destination Management, she focuses on positive impact tourism, leveraging her optimism and experience to make our tours both attractive and transformative.

Jana
Interactive Experiences & Design

Jana is the artistic mind behind Tours that Matter, both behind the scenes and during our experiences. Having worked and lived in creative communities, she knows how to use art to connect people. Want to step out of your comfort zone? When Jana works her magic, every experience is unique and meaningful.

Joao
Tourguide & Permaculture Expert

Joao plays a key role in various community gardens in Amsterdam and is eager to introduce you to the hidden green oasis of Oost Indisch groen. With his skills, knowledge, and passion for urban agriculture, he understands the importance of community and the green ecosystem in a metropolitan city. Joao is the ideal guide to reconnect you with nature and inspire a greener, more fulfilling life in Amsterdam.

Nina
Tourguide & Art Historian

Nina is a passionate art historian with expertise in Amsterdam’s history, freedom, and colonial past. With a master's in Art History and Education, she explores the intersection of art, protest, and social change. When not guiding through Amsterdam or its museums, like the Maritime Museum, she travels to learn about different cultures. Her enthusiastic storytelling brings Amsterdam’s rich history to life.

Sara
Tourguide & Writer

Sara is a freedom-loving anarchist who arrived in Amsterdam at 19 and grew up in the city's squatting movement and underground scene. With a background in philosophy, her tours encourage discussion and the exchange of ideas. While interested in all aspects of Amsterdam, she is particularly knowledgeable about counterculture, (psychedelic) drugs, and the Dutch 'tolerance' policy.

OUR STORY

Tours that Matter is founded by three dedicated women: Katjalisa, Berber and Anouschka, together they have the vision, stories and community to reinvent the tourism industry and use it as a force for good. After years working in the big tour business off Amsterdam, they realised tours were associated with large groups and nuisance. This needed to change! How could a tour have a positive impact on the neighbourhood? They took on the challenge and started to design tours about topics that matter to them, the different neighbourhoods and the city of Amsterdam. In 2019 Tours that Matter was born, a tour company that gives back to the city.

Our tours inspire people to look beyond and discover new perspectives. By bringing people together and sharing stories. Stories that provoke, challenge and amaze. So that people learn to understand each other and find the tools to create a better world. 

REGENERATIVE TOURISM

Regenerative tourism is tourism that actively and intentionally creates the conditions for communities and places to thrive and flourish.

Regenerative tourism is going beyond sustainability, it is tourism that gives back more than it takes. It improves local economies, preserves local cultures and biodiversity while offering memorable, authentic life-changing experiences to the guests.

Working with Tours that Matter means tapping into
an ecosystem of empowering and inspiring relationships that we’ve nurtured with love and care over many years. We actively relate with everyone we work with but also with the places we visit on our tours. Through in depth dialogue with locals and other change makers as well as with nature, we create what serves the bigger picture of the city of Amsterdam

Why is it important?

People have been traveling for centuries. Travel with tourism as a primary motive has only developed into one of the most important economic sectors worldwide over the past few decades. This development has not been without negative impacts. Tourism has major environmental impacts (such as biodiversity loss, landscape impact, waste and water scarcity) and social impacts (such as overtourism, gentrification and social uprising).

Frequently asked questions

  • Fill out the request form and we will get back to you with a proposal by mail, once this has been confirmed your tour has been booked. 


  • A basic tour is a tour we’ve developed in the past, it has a fixed time, start & end location.

    A special tour is a tour that has already been designed and that we adapt to the needs of your group.


    • If you want to have a Tour that Matters combining different topics or a completely new topic that fits the goal of your conference/ company/educational program

    • If you want to change the time and location

    • if you want to add a lunch, dinner, interactive experience or volunteer activity to your program

  • We have designed tours for groups as big as 200 people, finding creative solutions to make sure that everyone has an inspiring experience. In the city centre the Amsterdam municipality doesn’t allow groups bigger than 15 people. We have put people on boats and bikes, splitting them up in smaller groups and bringing them together again in an inside location, taking them to different neighbourhoods of Amsterdam.. wherever there is a will, there is a way!


  • We are always willing to help you decide what would best fit your needs, sent us an email or schedule a call


CONTACT