In 2017, the number of guests staying in overnight accommodation in the Netherlands rose to 42 million, a year-on-year increase of almost 9 percent. It is the highest growth rate since 2006. The growth in tourism is primarily driven by foreign visitors. This number increased by 13 percent year-on-year. Domestic tourism grew by over 5 percent.

Just as the number of guests, the number of overnight stays in Dutch accommodation increased, to 111.7 million (2017). This growth is mainly due to the rising number of hotel stays, by nearly 10 percent. The number of overnight stays at holiday parks grew by over 5 percent. On the other hand, fewer nights were spent at campsites. The number of overnight stays at campsites fell by over 5 percent.

The highest number of sleeping accommodations per sq km of land area can be found in the provinces of Zeeland and Noord-Holland. Types of accommodation vary widely, however. In Zeeland, two-thirds of sleeping accommodations are on campsites; in Noord-Holland, half are hotel beds. A large part of these hotel beds are in the Amsterdam region.

An average fitness centre has over 1,100 members, with numbers ranging from around 400 (small fitness centres) to over 3 thousand memberships for the large ones. A total of 2.25 million people are members of a fitness club, of whom 12 percent are younger than 18 years. Almost nine in ten fitness clubs offer group instruction as well. One-quarter of all fitness centres do not (only) provide group instructors but offer lessons on a screen.

Smartphones and laptops were the most frequently used internet devices used by households in 2017. Smartphones could be found in 85 percent of all households, laptops in 78 percent. Especially smartphones have gained a lot of ground in recent years. In 2012, only 50 percent of households possessed one or more smartphones. More and more households own a tablet, smart TV, or TV with set-top box (STB). In 2017, two-thirds of households had a tablet while nearly half had a smart TV or a TV with an STB.

Older adults are increasingly active on social media. In 2017, 64 percent of the respondents aged 65 to 74 years said they had used social media in the recent past. This was only 24 percent five years previously. An increase in social media use was also seen among people aged 75 and over. Nowadays, over one-third of the over-75s are active on social media, versus 5 percent in 2012. When looking at the youngest age groups, social media are used by virtually everyone.

Over three-quarters of the Dutch population aged 12 years or older purchased something on the internet in 2017. This is an increase of 12 percentage points compared to five years previously. As in previous years, the most frequently made online purchases included sports equipment, travel and holiday packages as well as tickets to events. The sharpest increase in recent years was seen in online purchases of food and other (daily) groceries.

Around half of the Dutch population aged 15 years and over engaged in volunteer work last year. The shares were equal for both men and women. Men and women are volunteering for different types of organisations. Most men are active for sports clubs, while women are more likely to volunteer for schools and in care.

Three out of ten Dutch people aged 15 or older have daily contact with relatives who do not live with them. A more or less equally large group are in daily contact with friends. Fourteen percent see neighbours on a daily basis, but 12 percent seldom or never talk to their neighbours. The level of social contact has hardly changed over the past few years.