In her paper, Hoed describes the historic context of Dutch international cultural policy as a prologue to her research into its impact on attracting arts professionals to the Netherlands. The bulk of her paper contains the results of a survey she conducted on the programmes of the Theater Instituut Nederland during 2001-2003. She concludes that this programme has been highly effective in boosting box-office figures of Dutch theatre productions. Since their initial visit, 84% of the respondents (theatre professionals) have extended their contacts and have formed a network with other professionals in the field. However, the exchange of culture and know-how appears to be more successful among e.g. programmers than with creative staff.