Two-thirds of all summer holidays are booked online
In the summer period of 2017, three out of four Dutch people (12,7 million) went on holiday one or more times. Almost nine out of ten holidays were spent in Europe, with Germany being the favorite destination. A large majority of summer holidays were booked online. This is reported by Statistics Netherlands.
In summer holidays of 2017, which ran from April 29 to September 30, 12,7 million Dutch people went on holiday almost 23 million times. Nearly 13 million of these were spent outside the country's borders, the remaining 10 million in the Netherlands. On average, a holiday in the summer period lasted 8 days. In the summer of 2017, a total of 12,4 billion euros was spent on holidays, just under a thousand euros per holidaymaker.
Holidays mainly booked over the internet
Two out of three Dutch people already booked the accommodation in which they stayed during their summer holiday before the trip. This is especially true for holidays abroad, for which 73 percent booked a place to sleep before the start of the holiday, compared to 56 percent for domestic holidays. For holidays abroad, accommodation was usually booked through a travel agency (41 percent), for domestic holidays in more than half of the cases (55 percent) directly with the lessor of the accommodation. Two-thirds of holiday bookings in the summer of 2017 were made via the internet, while more than one in ten holidays were booked in person at a travel agency or travel agent.
Accommodation in 1 in 5 summer holidays not pre-booked
In more than 19 percent of the summer holidays in 2017, the place to sleep was only determined after departure from home, in 8 percent of the holidays a day to a week before departure. More than 20 percent booked holiday accommodation three months to six months before departure, and 7 percent even longer in advance. In almost 14 percent of summer holidays, no accommodation was booked at all. This mainly concerns holidays where the accommodation is your own accommodation (for example a summer house) or a permanent pitch for a caravan or tent.
Favorite destinations
Almost 90 percent of foreign summer holidays had a European destination. Western and Southern Europe were the most popular, with respectively 44 and 31 percent of holidays. Holidays outside Europe mainly went to Asia and North America. The favorite foreign holiday destination in 2017 was Germany, where more than 2,1 million holidays were spent. France (2 million) and Spain (1,5 million) follow as second and third destinations. Germany mainly attracts Dutch people for a short holiday (with a maximum of three overnight stays), while France is in first place for long summer holidays of four or more overnight stays.
9 out of 10 holidays in our own country by car
In 2017, the car was also the preferred mode of transport for the trip to the summer destination. The car is used in almost 90 percent of holidays in the Netherlands. For summer holidays with a destination across the border, the car was also the most chosen mode of transport with 48 percent, followed by the plane (43 percent).
Active holiday more often in our own country
In 2017, the Dutch went on active holidays more often in their own country (25 percent) than abroad (15 percent). A holiday abroad, on the other hand, is more often spent on the beach than in the Netherlands: 23 compared to 9 percent. City holidays are also mainly a foreign affair (15 percent abroad compared to 7 percent in the Netherlands).
Cycling holidays are the most popular active summer holiday in the Netherlands: 42 percent of all active holidays, against 14 percent of active holidays abroad. Walking holidays are especially popular abroad (53 percent, against 31 percent in the Netherlands).