The Netherlands has been ranked 13th out of 140 other countries in the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness index. This is an improvement of one place on the last ranking from 2011.

Tourism

After the news that a record high number of tourists visited the Netherlands in 2012, this ranking cements the country’s place as a key destination in the tourism industry throughout the world.

The report estimates that 2 percent of the total GDP of the country is made from tourism, and 6,7 per cent of all employment in the country is within the travel and tourism industry.

Europe

European countries dominate the index, with the top five places all occupied by countries from the continent. Switzerland tops the ranking, followed by Germany, Austria, Spain and the United Kingdom. Within the region, the Netherlands is ranked 8th.

The Netherlands is ranked first within five categories assessed by the index, including quality of port infrastructure and the presence of major car rental companies. In general, the quality of infrastructure within the country accounts for most of the high rankings within the index.

Attitudes to tourism

With a score of 6,4 out of 7 for the attitude of the population towards tourism, the Netherlands comes in at 47th on the index. However, within the category of price competitiveness in the industry the country ranks very poorly, lagging down in 122nd place.

Similarly, there is large disparity between the purchasing power of tourists and those living in the Netherlands. The country ranks 125th in this regard, and 129th for the price of fuel in the country.

With an increasing amount of tourism coming from BRIC countries, the sheer price of everyday life in the Netherlands continues to be a stumbling block in the expansion of the Travel and Tourism industry.