Belgians and Dutch people continue to travel despite inflation

About 8 out of 10 have a clear intention to travel in the next 12 months. This is evident from both the ABTO-GFK travel intentions survey and the NBTC Holiday Sentiment Monitor. Both studies just came out during the month of April. The desire to travel is up there. At the moment the need to travel is clearly higher than the inflation rate.

 

Will the rising costs have no impact?

Of course they will. About 50% of the Belgians and the Dutch indicate that they will adjust their plans. The Dutch, for example, will go on holiday less often or opt for cheaper accommodation. Singles in particular will be forced to stay at home a little more than before. But stop traveling? No, not that no way.

A record number of people at work

The need to travel may in fact never been greater. After all, a record number of people are working. In Belgium, labor participation rose to around 72% among the active population aged 20 to 64. In the Netherlands, on the other hand, 72.6% of the population between the ages of 15 and 75 work. In other words, we all regularly need to recharge the batteries. So we keep traveling and going on vacation as a means of doing so.

The main travel behavior of Belgians in the coming months  (ABTO-GFK)

• France is the main destination followed by Belgium (11%), Spain (8.5%), Italy (5.5%), the Netherlands (4%) and Greece (3.7%).
• We mainly travel in the months of July, August and September
• Belgians book their holidays earlier again (55% early booking compared to 64% pre-corona) and the package holidays score remarkably well (66% already booked)
• Belgians mainly opt for a hotel (54%), a holiday home (24%), an apartment (19) or B&B (17%)
• For the time being, sustainability has little impact on travel intentions

Source: ABTO (Association of Belgian Travel Organisers) in collaboration with study agency GFK

 

The main travel behavior of the Dutch in the coming months (NBTC)

• 35% of the Dutch have already booked their holiday in the first quarter of 2023
• Spain is the main destination (21%) followed by France (12%), Greece (10%), Germany (10%) and Italy (9%)
• 48% of the market travels by plane
• The Dutch mainly opt for a hotel (38%), followed by an apartment (12%), a bungalow (14%) or a campsite (12%).

Source: Holiday Sentiment Monitor NBTC (Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions)