Over half of NL residents already canceled summer holiday plan; Foreign tourist bookings plummet

The coronavirus is having a massive impact on the Netherlands' tourism sector. Nearly 60 percent of Netherlands residents have already decided to postpone their summer vacation plans, and half said they don't know if they'll go on vacation at all this year, the Netherlands' tourism board NBTC said based on a study by DVJ Insights.

Covid-19 is also impacting foreign tourists' plans to visit the Netherlands, according to a poll on Holland.com. A week ago, German tourists said that their travel plans to the Netherlands were hardly affected by the virus, for example. This week that changed considerably, according to NBTC.

Queries about visiting the Netherlands and bookings to do so through Holland.com dropped by 50 percent over the past month. The strongest drop in site visits came from Italy, with a decrease of 57 percent. The smallest decrease came from Belgian tourists, though they still visited Holland.com 40 percent less.

The reluctance to travel in this crisis period can also be seen in hotel occupancy rates, according to the tourism board. Amsterdam hotels' occupancy rate currently stands at 12.6 percent. The occupancy rate in all of the Netherlands is 12 percent. "For the time being, this decline is expected to continue," NBTC said.