Coby van Dongen has been awarded the Medal of Honour of the Republic of Austria in Silver. The award ceremony took place in the new office of the Austrian Tourist Board (Österreich Werbung Netherlands) in The Hague. Van Dongen, who said goodbye to de Jong Intra Vakanties in May 2023, has been very meritorious for tourism from the Netherlands to Austria for many years, according to Österreich Werbung. According to the tourist board, this has resulted in a lot of Dutch tourists to Austria. A special delegation had come over from Austria for the award ceremony. Van Dongen received the award from Astrid Steharnig-Staudinger (CEO of Österreich Werbung), State Secretary Susanne Kraus-Winkler (responsible for tourism) and Minister for Economy and Employment Martin Kocher. They were accompanied by ten prominent Austrian (hotel) entrepreneurs and board members of tourist locations such as Schönbrunn Castle and Swarovski Kritallwerken. Of course, Thiebout van den Bergh and Michael Strasser were also present on behalf of Österreich Werbung Netherlands. Van Dongen worked at de Jong Intra Vakanties for almost 47 years, starting as the youngest employee and ending as commercial director. In May 2023, she resigned from her position at her own request. She has always had a warm heart for Austria. From the beginning, she regularly traveled to the country and has built up a large network of contacts over the years as a buyer, product manager and board member. On behalf of de Jong Intra Vakanties, a number of colleagues who are involved in the product range Austria were present, as well as management, shareholders and supervisory directors.
