The Netherlands more popular with Chinese tourists

© ANP
Compared to 2014, the number of nights spent in the Netherlands by Chinese tourists increased by 33 percent in 2015. The bulk of foreign tourists visiting the Netherlands came from Germany, Belgium and the United Kingdom. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports that Germans favoured the North Sea coast, while tourists from the UK prefer Amsterdam.

The number of nights spent in the Netherlands by foreign tourists has been on the increase for many years. Last year the amount of overnight stays rose by 8 percent to 37 million. German tourists occupied first place: they spent 15 million nights in the Netherlands, i.e. 10 percent more than in 2014. With 5 and 4 million overnight stays respectively, Belgium and the UK occupied second and third place.

 

Foreign guests staying in Dutch holiday accommodations, 2015
 Series 0
Germany41
Other Europe21
Belgium13
United Kingdom11
North, Central and South America7
Asia, Australia and Africa7

More Chinese

Proportionally, Chinese tourists accounted for the sharpest increase in 2015. Their number of overnight stays in hotels in the Netherlands soared by 33 percent to a total of 436 thousand. As a holiday destination, the Netherlands was less popular among Russians; their number of hotel overnight stays declined by 25 percent.

 

Overnight stays foreign hotel guests; top 3 relative increases and decreases, 2014-2015
 Series 0
China32.9
Romania23.4
Turkey19.9
Japan-4.9
Luxembourg-12.3
Russia-24.9

Germans head for the coast, UK tourists prefer Amsterdam

Half of overnight stays in hotels are spent in Amsterdam. Foreign guests have their own special preferences with respect to holiday accommodations and regions. Tourists from Germany and Belgium often stay in holiday parks, camping sites and along the coast. Tourists from Belgium also often spend the night in inland accommodations. UK tourists often opt for hotels in Amsterdam.

Domestic tourism is still more important than foreign tourism. In 2015 Dutch tourists spent 66 million nights in the Netherlands, versus 37 million for foreign tourists.