Overview
- The CBS release published July 3 showed 21.9 million summer vacations in 2025 taken by 10.8 million people, with 12.9 million trips abroad and 9.0 million within the Netherlands.
- France was the single most popular foreign destination followed by Germany and Spain, and cars were the main mode of travel with 13.4 million trips by car.
- Gelderland was the top domestic destination with about 1.6 million vacations while Groningen ranked last with roughly 201,000 domestic vacations, prompting a new provincial marketing push.
- Drenthe tourism businesses report later, more cautious bookings and lower occupancy compared with last year and cite the VAT rise to 21 percent and higher fuel costs as key pressures on demand.
- The data show strong income and household divides in who goes on holiday — 87 percent participation in the highest income group versus 41 percent in the lowest — and they confirm a return to more foreign travel since 2022 that risks uneven local recovery for smaller provinces.