Where do we go on holiday the most often?
Germany is the most popular destination among holidaymakers from the Netherlands. Collectively, we took 3.6 million holidays amongst our eastern neighbours in 2023. Other popular destinations were France (2.9 million holidays) and Spain (2.1 million). Dutch people went on holiday 2.5 times a year, on average.
That was a total of 37.6 million holidaysnoot1 in 2023, of which 16.7 million were holidays in the Netherlands and 20.9 million were holidays abroad. Germany was the most popular holiday destination in both summer and winter.noot2 In 2022, France was the most popular destination for holidaymakers. Outside Europe, the USA was the most visited holiday destination.
| Landen | Number of holidays |
|---|---|
| Summer season | . |
| Germany | 2107 |
| France | 2096 |
| Spain | 1165 |
| Belgium | 1080 |
| Italy | 1036 |
| Greece | 621 |
| United Kingdom | 565 |
| Austria | 513 |
| Portugal | 400 |
| Denmark | 292 |
| . | |
| Winter season | . |
| Germany | 1449 |
| Spain | 948 |
| Belgium | 941 |
| Austria | 874 |
| France | 819 |
| United Kingdom | 514 |
| Italy | 387 |
| Portugal | 239 |
| Greece | 160 |
| United States | 106 |
Germany more popular among people travelling without children
The largest group of people who went on holiday in Germany in 2023 were couples travelling without children. They took a total of 1.0 million holidays there. A further 875 thousand holidays were taken there by people travelling with children. People travelling with children spent less time away, on average. People with children who went to Germany spent one day less there, on average, than couples without children. People who travelled to Germany with friends or others spent the longest on holiday.
| Reisgezelschap | Number of holidays to Germany |
|---|---|
| Couples without children | 1020 |
| Adult(s) with child(ren) | 875 |
| Family, others | 651 |
| Friends, others | 573 |
| Single traveller | 437 |
More than 8 days away
In 2023, the average holiday lasted 8.4 days. People who went on holiday abroad stayed away nearly twice as long (10.8 days) as those who spent their holidays in the Netherlands (5.5 days). And people went away for longer in the summer than in the winter. In summer, the average holiday was 9.3 days long, and in winter it was 7.2 days long.
| Categorie | Soort vakantie | Average number of holidays |
|---|---|---|
| Total | , Total | 8.4 |
| Destination | Abroad, Destination | 10.8 |
| Destination | in the Netherlands, Destination | 5.5 |
| Season | Summer, Season | 9.3 |
| Season | Winter, Season | 7.2 |
Travelling without reservations
A total of 3.6 million Dutch people went on holiday without booking accommodation in advance. They spent 9 days away from home, on average. In 2023, people went on holiday to Germany a total of 256 thousand times without booking in advance. Those who did arrange accommodation in Germany beforehand were most likely to have done this 1 to 3 months in advance.
Majority of people travel by car
In 2023, most people went on holiday by car (63 percent), while 20 percent travelled by air and 9 percent by train. More Dutch people go on holiday by car in the summer than in the winter, relatively speaking. Conversely, the share of holidays made by air and by rail is higher in the winter than in the summer.
| Vervoersmiddel | Total | Summer season | Winter season |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car | 63.2 | 64.9 | 60.7 |
| Aeroplane | 20.0 | 18.2 | 22.6 |
| Train | 9.0 | 7.6 | 11.1 |
| Other | 7.7 | 9.2 | 5.6 |
Relevant link
News release – 1 in 5 Dutch people did not go on holiday in 2023
Notes
Holidays
A holiday is defined as time away from the person’s own home when they can relax and enjoy leisure time, with at least one overnight stay. This includes holidays both in the Netherlands and abroad. Holidays exceeding 90 days were not included in this survey.
Trips involving stays with family, friends or others, which the respondent describes as holidays, are also counted as holidays. If the respondent describes this kind of stay as a family visit or business trip, however, it is not counted as a holiday.
In the Holiday Survey, holidays are counted per person and not per household or group of travellers, as members of a household can also go on holiday separately.
Holiday season
The summer and winter seasons are seen as separate periods within a year. The summer season lasts for around 22 weeks between May and September and includes the spring-summer season, high season and late summer season. The winter season lasts for around 30 weeks between October and April and includes the autumn, Christmas and Easter periods. Holidays are assigned to a particular season based on the return date. Until 2020, this was based on the date of departure.