2019: Number of overnight stays in the Netherlands skyrockets

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) has released figures showing that lodgings in the Netherlands hosted more tourists in 2019 than the previous year.

46,3 million tourists stayed overnight

A report from CBS has revealed that 46,3 million guests stayed in Dutch accommodation in 2019, which amounts to an increase of about 5 percent on the previous year. 26 million of these guests were from the Netherlands, an increase of about 3 percent from last year. The remaining 20,3 million guests were foreigners, 8 percent up from 2018.

While the Netherlands as a whole received more guests, certain provinces actually recorded a decrease in the number of guests they received in 2019. Groningen, Friesland, Flevoland and Overijssel all received fewer visitors. The cause of this decrease? A reduction in the number of Dutch tourists.

On the flip side of the coin, the provinces of North-Holland and North Brabant saw the biggest increase in the number of guests. North-Holland comes out on top when it comes to hosting the most tourists staying overnight; the province hosted around 15 million visitors.

The most visited cities in the Netherlands

It will come as no surprise that, with more than 9 million guests, Amsterdam remained the biggest city for tourism in the Netherlands. Following Amsterdam by some distance is Rotterdam with 1,2 million tourists, The Hague with 1 million and Utrecht with 451.000. The ratio of Dutch to foreign tourists remains the same in these cities.

The city of Rotterdam actually recorded a slight decrease in the number of tourists (a decrease of 4 percent in visitors and 2,3 percent overnight stays) after a spike in 2018. Similarly, The Hague also saw fewer tourists staying in the city in 2019, with about 4,1 percent fewer visitors and 4,5 percent fewer overnight stays.