Vacation days, holiday spending set to rise in 2016

Research office NBTC-NIPO thinks that Dutch people will go on vacation more often and spend more money on holiday this year. After several years of slight decrease and stabilization last year, the total number of holidays is expected to rise this year by around 2 percent, ANP reports. The researchers expects increase of around 3 percent for holidays abroad, amounting to a total of 18.6 million abroad holidays. An increase of around 1 percent is expected for holidays in the Netherlands, amounting to 17.2 million local holidays. Overall holiday spending is expected to increase by about 3 percent to 16.5 billion euros. The researchers attribute the increase in holidays and spending mainly to the improving economy. "The combination of growing consumer confidence and rising purchasing power stimulates wanderlust", according to NBTC. Though they do warn that "geopolitical tensions and fear of terrorist attacks" may still temper the positive trend.