Most of the visitors came from Germany, while China showed the biggest growth percentage-wise.
NBTC expects some four percent more visitors in 2015, a forecast of 14.5 million international visitors this year.
The 14 million foreign visitors spent well over 34.6 million nights in Holland (+9%). This makes 2014 another record year for Holland.
Most of the foreign tourists hailed from Germany, just like in previous years. Well over 3.9 million Germans visited our country in 2014 (+12%). Great Britain is the runner-up; the number of British visitors increased by eleven percent to nearly 1.9 million. Belgium comes third with over 1.8 million tourists (+10%).
China showed the biggest increase, percentage-wise. The number of Chinese visitors increased by eighteen percent to more than 250,000 arrivals. In addition, nearly one million (+6%) Americans visited Holland, partly thanks to the improving economy and the cheaper euro. The number of visitors from Russia decreased by six percent, mainly as a result of the political tensions and the drop in the value of the rouble.
Some 80% of the total number of international visitors come from Europe, and in 2014 arrivals from Europe increased substantially, in particular from Belgium, Great Britain and Germany. The exceptional growth from these neighbouring countries is mainly due to the increase in the number of short holidays, which Holland greatly benefited from, being a nearby destination. Holland also benefited from additional transport connections.
Moreover, the fine weather and the favourable holiday spread in Germany and Belgium contributed to additional holidays.
Jos Vranken, Managing Director NBTC: “It goes without saying that we are happy with another record year. Inbound tourism is a growth market, and one of the few industries that were able to show volume growth, even in recent years. The tourism industry contributes considerably to the Dutch economy, in terms of spend, jobs and facilities.”
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