Number of inbound tourists in the Netherlands 2012-2020

The number of inbound tourists in the Netherlands dropped sharply in 2020 over the previous year because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In 2019, the country welcomed roughly 20 million international travelers. In 2020, the number of inbound visitors declined to approximately seven million.

In 2020, most individuals who traveled for holiday or business purposes to the Netherlands were from Germany, as roughly 3.22 million German tourists visited their neighboring country. Together with the Belgians and British, they accounted for more than half of the European tourists visiting the Netherlands in 2020.

Tourist expenditure more than doubled

Apart from the outstanding circumstances in 2020 caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry has become more and more important for the Dutch economy. A total of approximately 81 billion euros was spent by tourists in 2019 (excluding outbound and other expenditures). A major part of this expenditure can be attributed to tourists from abroad; roughly 34.7 billion euros was spent by inbound tourists (47 billion euros of domestic spending). This is roughly twice as much when compared to 2010.  

Keukenhof remains popular as a visitor attraction

When looking at activities tourists from abroad undertake when they visit the Netherlands, Keukenhof is one of the top five most visited places. The garden's foreign visitor flow amounted to around 1.5 million visitors in 2019.