ABN Amro predicting slight growth for the leisure industry due to rise in salaries

The Dutch leisure industry, which includes cinemas, museums, and zoos, will profit from rising salaries and savings buffers for consumers. This was a prediction made by ABN Amro, who expects the leisure industry to grow slightly this year. In addition to the increased expenditure by Dutch consumers, the bank also said tourists are important for the sector. More tourists are expected to visit the country this year.

The expected growth varies per sector. ABN Amro expects museums to experience an increase of four percent when it comes to the number of visitors compared to the previous year. A two percent growth is expected regarding cinema visitors, and a one percent increase is expected for zoos and amusement parks.

Part of the visitors for daily activities are tourists. ABN Amro, which is basing its predictions on the tourist agency NBTC predictions, is expecting 22 million people to visit the Netherlands from abroad this year. This is a 4.3 percent increase compared to last year.

Cinemas were affected by delays in production due to strikes in the United States earlier this year and are also struggling due to competition from streaming services.

It is mainly the larger museums that attract many foreign visitors, who are expected to experience a growth during the year. Small and medium-sized museums will likely have a tougher year, mainly because higher staff costs will put pressure on the margins.

ABN Amro’s expectations are possibly influenced by several insecurities, one of which is bad weather. Cinemas, museums, and indoor gaming halls profit from bad weather, while people are more likely to visit an amusement park or zoo when the weather is warm.

The bank also noticed that amusement parks are adapting to the change in weather as a result of climate change by investing in indoor attractions, for example. This way, the parks remain attractive for visitors in any weather.

Cinemas, museums, and theaters were hit hard by the lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic. Zoos and amusement parks struggled less with this because visitors were able to keep their distance at these locations.

The sectors grew significantly after the pandemic, but the development stabilized last year, ABN Amro saw. Consumers are being more reluctant to spend money, due to inflation and the higher prices in the sectors. This has led to some people going on fewer day trips and often using discount codes.