Nearly three-quarters of Dutch people took a summer holiday in 2024

Children are enjoying themselves in a natural swimming pool, which is filled with spring water.
© Hollandse Hoogte / Arie Kievit
A total of 72 percent of people in the Netherlands aged 15 and over went on holiday during the summer of 2024. The average number of trips was two. There were 21.6 million holiday trips in total, with an average duration of nine days per trip. People spent 77 euros per day, on average. The most popular destination was France. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of new figures taken from the Holidays survey.

In 2024, 15.3 billion euros was spent on holidays during the summer holiday season, which runs from May to September. This amounted to an average of 1,417 euros per holidaymaker and 709 euros per holiday. Each day cost an average of 77 euros. This amount has been rising for years: in 2022, the daily costs were 66 euros, on average. The total cost per person for a summer holiday rose from 628 euros in 2022 to 709 euros in 2024.

Fewer overnight stays

Although the cost per holiday is rising, the total number of overnight stays is falling. The number of overnight stays made by Dutch people during the summer holiday season in 2024 totalled 177 million. In 2022 and 2023, this was 184 million. By comparison, in the years before the coronavirus pandemic, the number of overnight stays during the summer season was well over 200 million. The average cost of a holiday was less than 600 euros per person at the time.

Holidays lasted more than 9 days on average

In 2024, a summer holiday lasted nine days, on average. Round trips and touring holidays were longer than average, at 16 days. Stays in privately-owned accommodation, such as holiday homes or caravans on a permanent site, and sun and beach holidays were also relatively long, at 13 days. Recreational holidays centred on leisure, relaxation and fun (such as visiting theme parks or shopping) were shorter, with an average of six days.


France most popular destination for summer holidays

More than half of summer holidays in 2024 were spent abroad (55 percent). The most popular holiday destination was France, with 2.1 million trips. Germany followed with 1.8 million holidays and Spain was in third place with 1.3 million holidays. Belgium and Italy completed the top five holiday destinations with 1.1 million holidays per each country. France was also the top holiday destination in 2021 and 2022, while in 2023 it was Germany.

In 2024, Germany was the most popular holiday destination for the year as a whole, followed by France. These countries have been the two most visited holiday destinations for many years.

3 in 10 people did not go on summer holiday

In 2024, 28 percent of people aged 15 and over did not go on summer holiday. A quarter (7 percent of all people aged 15 and over) went on holiday during the winter season, and 21 percent did not go on holiday at all. The reason mentioned the most often was that they preferred to stay at home, which was the case for 32 percent of respondents. Health limitations (30 percent) and financial constraints (27 percent) were also frequently mentioned as reasons why people chose not to go on holiday.