Tourism had higher share in Dutch economy last year; Not back to pre-Covid level yet

The share of tourism in the Dutch economy increased to 3.7 percent last year. The year before, it was still 2.5 percent. After the lean coronavirus years, tourists spent considerably more, and total spending rose to almost 96 billion euros. Though tourism’s share in the economy is still not back to the 4.4 percent of pre-pandemic 2019. Employment in the tourism sector also showed recovery, Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reported based on research for the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy.

Both Dutch tourists and foreign tourists in our country spent more in 2022. Together, they spent 36.5 billion euros more than in 2021. That meant that spending was higher than before the coronavirus pandemic. Compared to 2019, Dutch tourists, in particular, present more.

Foreign tourists spent 34.5 billion euros in the Netherlands last year. That is a growth of over 90 percent compared to 2021 when coronavirus-related travel restrictions still applied. Foreign tourists accounted for about a third of total tourist spending last year.

In 2022, employment in the tourism sector was also higher than in 2021. The number of working years in tourism increased by almost 20 percent to 452,000 last year. That brought the share of tourism in total employment to 5.5 percent. In 2019, it was still 4.8 percent.

The increase can be seen in all tourism sectors. Employment in aviation, travel agencies, and travel brokers increased the most. The number of employed persons and jobs also increased. Part-time work is relatively common in tourism, so the number of jobs exceeds the number of employed persons.

The added value of tourism, the measure used to calculate a country’s domestic product or economic growth, has also risen sharply. The added value of the sector in 2022 was almost 32 billion euros. That is more than 66 percent higher than in 2021. The hospitality, aviation, travel agencies, and travel brokerage sectors grew the fastest. The added value was still lower than in pre-pandemic 2019.