Dutch hospitality industry outperforms European average

The Dutch hospitality industry has grown faster than the European average, if one considers the end of 2009 – the worst time of the financial crisis – as the starting point. On average, the European hospitality industry grew 20 %, but Dutch growth reached 24 % according to CBS numbers..

Larger share in the economy

The hospitality industry surpassed pre-crisis levels in the fourth quarter of 2013, but turnover has not stopped growing ever since. In 2007, the industry contributed 1.7 % to the Dutch economy, but its share grew to 1.8 % in 2015, despite a minor blip in 2010, when it dropped to 1.6 %. 

Four countries do even better than the Netherlands in the same time frame: Austria (+ 27.7 %), Belgium (+ 31.7 %), France (+ 28.5 %) and Poland (+ 62.4 %).

On the other hand, the Netherlands employ fewer people in the hospitality industry than the rest of Europe does on average. In 2014, 374,000 people worked in the Dutch hospitality industry, which is 4.3 % of the Dutch labour population, while the European average is 4.8 %. However, tourist-focused countries have a huge impact on that percentage, pushing it up.