Western Michigan’s Holland usually attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year to see the city’s tulips. Officials are asking them not to — for now — as part of efforts to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
“I’m making a request that I never thought I would make — and I hope I never have to make again,”
Mayor Nathan Bocks said Tuesday in a city-produced video.
“Please do not come to Holland to see the tulips this year.”
Full blooms in some of Holland’s tulip beds are expected by May 1.
In a news release, Bocks also said the city looks forward to “welcoming visitors back to Holland soon and certainly to enjoy the tulips in 2021,” according to the Holland Sentinel.
Holland announced in March that the Tulip Time Festival scheduled for early May was cancelled. The festival draws about 300,000 to 500,000 people each year.
“Our first responsibility is to keep our residents safe and asking visitors to stay home this year is the right but very difficult thing to do,” Bocks said.
