thanks for the interesting and informative post
1) The flow of pedestrians practically causes the JWs to be out of the tourists’ direct view
The advantage here is that individual members of the public can discreetly take a leaflet or publication without being noticed by other tourists, including perhaps from their own tour group - some times a small group goes by and disappears, and then five minutes later one of the group sneaks back, unseen by friends (perhaps saying they're gonna go back and take a photo) - then they pick up a leaflet and slip it into their pocket.....
2) The literature cart had mostly Asian (Manadarin, I think) literature on it.
It is relatively easy to contact Dutch and English speakers - but in China the WT is under ban, so not so easy to contact Manadarin speakers - hence this type of 'cart-search' ministry - focusing on Chinese tourists
But it was interesting that apparently you saw no Asian tourists while you where there - that does seem unusual.....
Did you check your Lonely Planet Tour Guide: The Netherlands (2016) beforehand:
Giethoorn - When the tourist hordes get too thick (the site has become a must-see for Asian tour groups) head to the northern part of the village which is quieter and quainter
https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=K-_8CwAAQBAJ&pg=PT575&lpg=PT575&dq=Giethoorn+asians&source=bl&ots=7mF19ualaW&sig=xaEEiq8bnGunlKEydwXXUgCP1yU&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwihos2L7_nVAhUJCcAKHWwgDf0Q6AEIajAN#v=onepage&q=%22Asian%20tour%20groups%22&f=false
Also this
Giethoorn: The Chinese Venice of the Netherlands (May 2017)
https://dutchreview.com/dutch-reviews/places/giethoorn-the-chinese-venice-of-the-netherlands/
And the documentary film: Ni Hao Holland
Cherry has long dreamt
of swapping her home city Beijing for the Dutch village Giethoorn. She
has heard and read a lot about this mythical place. The day arrives that
she and her friend hop on the plane in search of adventure.
In the
meantime, entrepreneurs from Giethoorn work hard behind the scenes to
cater to this ‘Holland experience’. They want to make the most of the
fast growing flow of Chinese tourists in their village. How is this
authenticity created by some and experienced by others?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCA_-VUKwEs
And this (typical?) news item:
Xinhua News (2015 article)
In Giethoorn, an idyllic village of just 2,600 inhabitants in the northeast of the Netherlands, two thirds of its hotel visitors are Chinese.
"We have a growing number of Chinese visitors every year," said local hotelier Gabriella Esselbrugge in an interview with Xinhua. "The Chinese think of Giethoorn as a unique place, a peaceful environment surrounded by a national park."
Giethoorn is a village with around five kilometers of canals, wooden arch bridges and picturesque thatched farmhouses dating back to the 18th century. It receives thousands of international tourists per year. Most are from China and nearby Germany.
"We have a large number of daily Chinese visitors, but also many decide to stay for a few days," said Esselbrugge, who is estimating that the average stay of Chinese people in Giethoorn is between two and three days.
"On some days, the Chinese tourists dominate the streetscape of Giethoorn," said Therese Ariaans, spokesperson at the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions (NBTC), in an interview with Xinhua. "Giethoorn is a stone's throw from Amsterdam and they love the canals as well as the traditional Dutch atmosphere in the village."
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-09/10/c_134607839.htm
