Dutch hospitality sales growth outpacing rest of EU

In recent years the turnover of Dutch hotels, restaurants and bars increased more than the European Union average, according to figures Statistics Netherlands released on Tuesday. The Dutch hospitality industry's sales are currently at a record high.

In the first quarter of this year, the Netherlands hospitality industry saw its sales increase to 24 percent above the lowest level during the financial crisis, in late 2009. The turnover in the rest of the EU grew by an average of 20 percent.

The Netherlands hospitality industry was somewhat slow to recover from the crisis, but since the last quarter of 2013 the turnover has been above the pre-crisis levels. Due the the relatively strong growth, the hospitality industry's share in the Dutch economy also increased to 1.8 percent in 2015, compared to 1.7 percent pre-crisis in 2007.

A total of 374 thousand people worked in the hospitality industry in the Netherlands in 2014, compared to 344 thousand in 2008.