Netherlands

The International Passenger Survey (IPS) was suspended on 16 March 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic until the start of 2021. The ONS have made every effort to produce high-quality estimates for the periods when IPS data is not being collected but have not been able to produce a full set of results. See the 2020 inbound page for more information.

The 2021 data is ‘incomplete’ as Eurotunnel data was unavailable for the entire year. In addition, interviewing at Dover restarted from Q3 2021 and pseudo records for the Irish land border were also removed in 2021. More info can be found on the 2021 inbound page.

For 2022, Eurotunnel data was also unavailable for the first half of the year. Interviewing at Eurostar was not affected by Covid-19 restrictions in 2021 or the first half of 2022. The ONS restarted IPS interviews at all ports from July 2022. The latest data can be found on the monthly and quarterly pages.

Due to the above, the latest full year IPS data below is from 2019.

Visitor characteristics

Business visitors are more than three times as likely to be male than female
More than three-in-four holiday visitors are making a repeat trip to Britain (excluding British nationals, within ten years)
80% of visitors in general are Dutch, while 26% of those visiting friends and/or relatives in the UK are Britons
96% of departing visitors (excluding British expats) are either ‘likely’ or ‘extremely likely’ to recommend a visit to Britain

Popular activities

Dining in a restaurant

Visited a Pub

Went Shopping

Global context


Measure	2019
International tourism expenditure (US$bn)	20.5
Global rank for international tourism expenditure	18
Number of outbound visits (m)	34.2
Most visited destination	France

Key demographic and economic data


Measure	2022
Population (m)	17.7
GDP per capita PPP (US$)	68,069
Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%)	1.8
Annual GDP growth (%)	4.7

Netherlands Market Snapshot (PDF, 777KB)

Netherlands Market Profile (PDF, 68.23MB)

Netherlands Aviation Profile (PDF, 598KB)

Netherlands COVID-19 Travel Sentiment (PDF, 474KB, Published April 2022)

Find out where visitors from the Netherlands to the UK reside in their own country (Excel, 212KB, Published 2014)

Read about the preferences of Europeans towards tourism (PDF, 1.65MB, Published March 2015)

Read about the perceptions of the UK held by Dutch respondents (PDF, 208KB, Published March 2019)

Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.1345 EUR

As of 30 March 2023

Retrieved from the Bank of England

Inbound visits to Britain from Netherlands

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OVERVIEW OF UK VISITOR STATISTICS {{activeYear.name}}

Number of visits

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Total expenditure (GBP)

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Total nights spent

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Average length of stay (Nights)

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Average spend per visit (GBP)

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What the Dutch think about Britain

The Dutch rate the UK highly for 'vibrant cities', 'culture' in general, 'contemporary culture', 'sport', 'cultural heritage', and 'historic buildings' out of 60 countries in 2022
Music, museums and films are the most are the cultural products or services most strongly associated with the UK among the Dutch
Amongst the most important reasons for choosing Britain as a holiday destination, Dutch respondents stated ‘cultural attractions’, ‘vibrant cities’ and the ‘countryside/natural beauty’ followed by a ‘good deal’ and ‘visiting friends and/or relatives’
Areas of strength for Britain include the provision of ‘good entertainment and nightlife’, ‘watching sporting events’, ‘the ease of getting around’, ‘the atmosphere’ and ‘good shopping’.
Activities that appeal to potential Dutch visitors include 'spotting wildlife in the Scottish Highlands', 'enjoying a traditional afternoon tea', 'taking a canal boat tour through the waterways of England', 'riding the scenic 'Hogwarts Express' (Harry Potter train) through the Scottish Highlands' and 'walking along Hadrian's Wall in Northern England'

Caring for visitors

There is an overall preference for small-scale (family run) hotels with character and traditional decoration and furniture, preferably in a nice countryside village
British gastropubs are a good option for the Dutch as they enjoy the atmosphere of a traditional pub and food is good value for money
Having a traditional afternoon tea is often high on the wish list while visiting Britain
Many Dutch holiday visitors tend to start thinking about their trip early with about one in three doing this as early as half a year or more in advance, but more than half of Dutch bookings happened within two months before the trip.

The leisure & travel trade

The Dutch travel trade is made up of tour operators, coach operators and travel agents, as well group travel organisers such as schools, night schools and associations
Dutch consumers are very independent and Britain is a familiar country to them which means that quite a few consumers book their holidays direct
Sea carriers such as P&O Ferries, Stena Line and DFDS Seaways are very strong brands in the Netherlands and they also offer accommodation and short breaks usually in cooperation with a tour operator
The Dutch value their private life and tend not to be very keen to go out for business dinners

Access to Britain from the Netherlands


Measure	2022
Weekly aircraft departures	621
Weekly seat capacity	86,387
Airports with direct routes in the Netherlands	4
Airports with direct routes in Britain	23
Weekly ferry crossings	26
Non-stop Eurostar trains per day to Amsterdam	6

It is straightforward to reach Britain from the Netherlands by sea, plane, coach, or train, but the majority of visitors travel by air
There is excellent access to all parts of Britain from the Netherlands but the highest capacity is on routes from Amsterdam to London area airports
Following the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, scheduled flight seat capacity in 2022 from the Netherlands to the UK recovered to 67% of 2019 levels
Those departing Britain by air for the Netherlands are charged £13 in Air Passenger Duty

Markets

Netherlands