Tourism in the Netherlands


Tourism in the Netherlands is a relatively small sector of the country's economy with a total contribution of 5.4% to gross domestic product and 9.6% to employment. In 2017 the Netherlands was visited by 17 million foreign tourists, making it the 20th most visited country in the world.

Arrivals by country

Within Europe

Most visitors staying in all forms of accommodation in the Netherlands on short-term basis are from the following countries of nationality with the majority of tourists coming from within Europe itself.
RankCountry20172016201520142013
1Germany5,190,0004,628,0004,283,0003,894,0003,495,000
2Belgium2,240,0002,124,0001,965,0001,828,0001,673,000
3United Kingdom2,195,0002,043,0001,967,0001,857,0001,680,000
4France825,000784,000750,000725,000680,000
5Italy565,000525,000543,000503,000461,000
6Spain445,000445,000432,000396,000395,000
7Switzerland285,000264,000271,000256,000231,000
8Russia175,000130,000152,000196,000203,000
9Sweden160,000156,000154,000142,000142,000
10Denmark160,000144,000155,000141,000144,000
11Norway125,000115,000132,000125,000127,000
Total foreign17,610,00015,834,00015,007,00013,925,00012,783,000-

Other continents

In 2017, the United States, China, and Canada are the major non-European homelands of international tourists coming to the Netherlands. The total of foreign tourists visiting the Netherlands in 2017 was 17,924,000, a 13% growth from the 15,829,000 foreign people who visited the country in 2016.