Tourism sector recovered slightly from Covid-dip last year

The added value of the Dutch tourism sector grew by 13.1 percent in 2021 compared to a year earlier, amounting to 19 billion euros. The sector partially recovered from the sharp coronavirus-related dip in 2020, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported on Monday.

Because the tourism sector’s added value grew more than the Dutch economy as a whole in 2021, the sector’s share in the Dutch economy increased from 2.3 to 2.5 percent. It is still well below the pre-pandemic level. In 2019, tourism accounted for 4.4 percent of the Dutch economy.

The recovery wasn’t visible in all parts of the tourism sector. The tourism-oriented aspects of the hospitality industry, aviation, and travel agencies saw a strong comeback in 2021. But art and culture saw their added value fall even further than in the first coronavirus year. Earlier this month, the Museums Association said that the number of visitors is still well below pre-pandemic figures, and many museums are facing financial difficulties.

Last year, tourists spent 5.7 billion euros more in the Netherlands than in 2020, but the amount was still 31.9 billion below 2019’s tourism spending. The partial recovery was mainly due to domestic tourism. Dutch tourists spent 37.8 billion euros in the Netherlands last year. International tourists spent 17.8 billion, compared to 34.7 billion euros in 2019.

The tourism sector’s recovery went hand-in-hand with the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions. During the first months of 2021, the Netherlands and many other countries were still in strict lockdowns. But the measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 relaxed during the course of the year.

Despite the increase in tourism, the decline in tourism employment continued in 2021. Last year, the number of working years in the industry decreased by 4.3 percent. “Due to government support measures, employment in 2020 fell much less than tourism spending and added value. Some of the staff who remained in service with wage support in 2020 left in 2021, causing tourism employment to fall further,” CBS said.