Fewer foreign tourists expected than in Covid-year 2020

A total of 5.4 million foreign tourists will visit the Netherlands this year - over a quarter less than pandemic year 2020 and 73 percent less than in 2019, the Netherlands Bureau for Tourism & Congresses (NBTC) said on Monday. More Netherlands residents are vacationing in their own country, but not enough to make up for the lack of foreign tourists, NU.nl reports.

The number of tourist- and business trips to the Netherlands this year is at the level of the early 1990s. The NBTC is hoping for more foreign tourists next year, but expects that foreign tourism will remain at the same level in 2022 as in 2021. A full recovery is only expected in 2024, the NBTC said.

"The expected annual figures paint a more dramatic picture than we had earlier this year," NBTC general director Jos Vranken said. "This is due to the ongoing travel restrictions and the restrictive measures that have been in place almost all year." 

The Netherlands is facing another significant loss of income from tourism spending, the NBTC said. Last year, the tourism sector earned 14.5 billion euros from international tourists and visitors, compared to 34.7 billion in 2019. And that will be even lower this year.

The number of Netherlands residents vacationing in the Netherlands is expected to be almost 30 percent higher than last year at 26 million. With the ongoing travel restrictions, Netherlands residents were hesitant to book a holiday abroad, only to have it canceled at the last minute and therefore opted for a holiday close to home.