About 30% are spending vacation bonuses on other expenses

Roughly three out of ten residents of the Netherlands will spend the holiday money that accompanies their salaries on something other than a vacation, said market researcher Improof Research. It surveyed more than a thousand people about their holiday plans and budget on behalf of travel website Booking.com. People who will not spend all their holiday money on vacations prefer to use the extra cash to pay off debt, to make a major purchase, or as an extra buffer against high inflation.

Many employees receive their holiday pay in May, which must amount to at least 8 percent of the gross salary of the previous year. In the study, half of the participants indicated that they spent this amount entirely on one or more vacations. For more than ten percent, that money is necessary to cover the cost of the holiday.

On the other hand, 7 percent of the participants in the survey will not spend any of their holiday money on vacations at all. In addition, 22 percent indicate that at least part of the holiday allowance is spent on other expenses. More than 20 percent of participants have no idea how they will use the holiday allowance.

A considerable 44 percent of the participants thinks it is a necessity to be able to go on holiday at least once a year, but the increased cost of living and high grocery prices have made it more difficult to save money for such a trip. Travel organizations such as Tui, Corendon and Sunweb have previously stated that people are still going on holiday despite high inflation, but are making tougher choices regarding costs. For example, they more often opt for an all-inclusive outing, less luxurious hotels or try to close a good last-minute deal.

The research for Booking.com shows that 27 percent of Dutch residents are spending less on their holidays than before because of a tighter financial situation. Slightly fewer than a fifth of the respondents said they will cut back on other major expenses in order to go on holiday.