The Netherlands Board of Tourism (NBT) has launched a national campaign highlighting one of  Holland`s most famous masterpieces to tie in with the release of the film Girl With A Pearl Earring.

The promotional campaign ties-in with the release of the film Girl With A Pearl Earring on 16 January, based on the best-selling novel by Tracy Chevalier. The novel is inspired by the famous Vermeer painting which hangs in the Mauritshuis in The Hague and is set in Delft, where Vermeer spent most of his life. The film stars Colin Firth as Vermeer, alongside Scarlett Johanssen and Tom Wilkinson.

The NBT has teamed up with Pathé, the film distributors, Caffe Nero and Daler Rowney the UK arts supplier, KLM and Frico Cheese to promote the film and the original painting.

The campaign, which aims to highlight The Hague and Delft as Vermeer-themed citybreak destinations on the back of the Dutch masterpiece, consists of 350,000 double A6 postcards, which will be distributed through Café Nero outlets together with A3 double-sided posters in the Caffe Nero shop windows. 250,000 postcards will be inserted in the Guardian and Independent in the weekend of 10/11 January. A prize is on offer to those who return the postcard to win a free 3 night city break to the Hague, staying at the 4* Parkhotel and a VIP visit to see the real Vermeer painting in The Mauritshuis. Free film tickets can be won instantly through a direct SMS response number.

NBT has also teamed up with Daler Rowney arts supplies by which over 250,000 flyers are distributed in approx. 500 retail outlets nationwide, supported by A3 posters. Here, too a 3-night break to The Hague, staying in the Parkhotel and a VIP trip to the Mauritshuis can be won through a free prize draw.

The film Girl With a Pearl Earring will be out on general release on January 16th 2004. The original painting Girl With a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer is in the Royal Cabinet of Paintings the Mauritshuis in The Hague. Further details can be found on www.holland.com/uk.