Burlington Citizen Exchange With Apeldoorn Returns in May 2027

Burlington residents who want a week in the Netherlands without paying for a hotel have an opening next spring. The city's Mundialization Committee is organizing the next citizen exchange with Apeldoorn, Burlington's twin city, with a group travelling there in May 2027 and Apeldoorn residents visiting Burlington the following September.

The trips have been running since the two cities twinned in 2005, usually every two or three years. Committee member Charles Minken counts roughly six exchanges so far, which makes next year's the seventh. The pandemic paused them, and they resumed with Apeldoorn visitors arriving in Burlington in September 2024 and a Burlington group flying over in May 2025.

The accommodation is what sets the trip apart. Everyone stays in the home of an Apeldoorn host at no cost, so participants cover airfare and the price of activities on the ground. Most groups spend a week in Apeldoorn and then book a few hotel nights elsewhere in the country, often Amsterdam or The Hague.

The exchange is built for adults. Minken said singles and couples are both welcome, and that travellers tend to be 50 and over without that being a rule. High school exchanges with Apeldoorn have run separately in the past. A group has already put its hand up for next May, and Minken said there is still room for more.