Dutch tourism spending rose 3.1% in real terms in 2025

Tourism expenditure recorded in the Dutch tourism accounts reached €117.6 billion in 2025, according to provisional figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS). That was €5.6 billion more than in 2024 at current prices, or an increase of 3.1% after adjusting for price changes. Foreign tourists accounted for more than half of the rise. [1]

The figures cover more than spending by visitors physically present in the Netherlands. They include expenditure before, during and after a trip, and can cover foreign tourists booking flights or hotels through Dutch companies without visiting the country. They are therefore not a measure of visitor numbers. [1]

Expenditure attributed to foreign tourists reached €41.7 billion, nearly €3.1 billion more in nominal terms than a year earlier. After price adjustment, it grew by 7.1%. Spending by Dutch tourists remained the largest component at €70.0 billion, but grew much more slowly: 0.8% in real terms.

A further €6.0 billion fell into the category of other tourism expenditure, up 3.7% after price adjustment. This includes purchases that cannot be attributed to either Dutch or foreign tourists, such as clothing, sporting goods, caravans and pleasure boats. [1]

Economic contribution above pre-pandemic peak

Tourism generated just over €42.3 billion in value added — a measure of its contribution to the economy, distinct from total expenditure. This rose by 3.9% after price adjustment, taking the sector more than 5% above its pre-pandemic peak in 2019.

Despite that growth, tourism’s reported share of total Dutch gross value added remained at 4.0%, unchanged from 2024 and below the 4.3% recorded in 2019. Those shares are rounded to one decimal place. [1]

Employment recovery remains uneven

Tourism’s labour volume increased by 0.6% to 458,000 labour years, still below its 2019 level. Labour years measure the volume of work rather than the number of workers or jobs.

By contrast, both worker and job counts were above their 2019 levels. The sector employed 669,000 people across 781,000 jobs in 2025, with CBS reporting annual increases of 1.3% and 1.1% respectively. [1]