Dutch holiday time shrinks

For the second year in a row, more Dutch people are choosing not to go on vacation According to ING Economic Bureau, one percent fewer people are traveling this year compared to 2013. The blame lies mainly in unemployment and an unstable labour market. Last year, three percent fewer Dutch people went away on holiday. A quarter of households say there is not enough money to take a holiday, whereas 12 percent say they have more than they thought they would. The research from ING states that 35.2 million people are going on vacation this year, which is around the same number as in 2007. Dutch consumers are going on vacation 2.1 times this year on average, a little over half of which will be spent abroad. Two-thirds of Dutch people are arranging holidays themselves. One-third are doing this because it is cheaper than getting a package from a travel agent. There is a rising popularity in online booking. Private rentals are getting increasingly more popular as well. ING-researcher Thijs Geijer says this is because the online marketplace is becoming more easy to access, and there are constantly more platforms where people can offer their private homes for rental.