Spending by Dutch travellers in summer 2024 was highest in Germany

© Nikki van Toorn
Dutch holidaymakers, day trippers and business travellers spent around 8.7 billion euros on goods and services in other countries in the third quarter of 2024, 92 percent of which was private spending. The most money was spent in Germany, France and Spain. This is reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) on the basis of new figures on international trade in services.
Goods and services purchased abroad by travellers from the Netherlands are counted as services imports.

As in previous years, Germany was the country where Dutch visitors spent the most in the summer of 2024. In the third quarter of 2024, for example, 14 percent of all travel spending by people from the Netherlands was in Germany. France and Spain ranked in second and third place. The ten countries where Dutch people spent the most money in Q3 of 2024 were all in Europe, with the exception of the United States. All together, spending in these ten countries accounted for 74 percent of total spending by Dutch travellers abroad.


German tourists spent the most in the Netherlands

Tourists from other countries spent over 6.7 billion euros on goods and services while visiting the Netherlands in Q3 of 2024, a quarter of which was spent during business trips.
Travellers from Germany spent the most money in our country: 46 percent of total spending by all travellers. Belgium and the United Kingdom were next, at 11 and 5 percent respectively. The top ten countries for spending in the Netherlands were mainly in Europe. The only exception was the United States, which ranked in fifth place.


International travel important for Dutch trade in services

Total outbound travel has rebounded since the dip caused by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, and in Q3 of 2024 it reached the highest level since measurements began in 2014.
Travel was among the top five types of services within the international services trade in the first three quarters of 2024. The same was also true in the same period of 2023. Travel makes up 9 percent of all services imports into the Netherlands and 7 percent of all services exports from the Netherlands.

Sources