More hospitality sector protest actions likely after Saturday success

The protests in the catering industry on Saturday will not be the last ones, director of the Royal Hospitality Union (KHN) Dirk Beljaarts told Nieuwsuur. "There will certainly be more protests in the coming days," Beljaarts said.

The director called it heartwarming to see how many mayors and the public welcomed opening the hospitality sector. "That also shows that it is possible. That is how the streets should look like," the KHN director said. He said if it were "life-threatening" to open cafes and restaurants, mayors would not be in favor of it either.

According to Beljaarts, it is now up to the Cabinet to "not wait ten days to announce what will happen to the catering industry and cultural sector but to take this signal to heart quickly."

Cafes and restaurants all over the Netherlands opened their doors on Saturday in protest of the continued closure of the catering sector. In many cities, the protest continued with the municipality's permission, but in Utrecht, for example, the mayor enforced the restrictions.