The number of overnight guests in the Netherlands increased by 0,7% in the first half of 2026, while the number of overnight stays decreased by 1,5%. NBTC sees this as a change in booking behavior: guests are deciding later, paying closer attention to price, and appear to be opting for shorter stays more often.
The trend in guests and overnight stays diverges in 2026. According to figures cited by the Netherlands Tourism & Congress Bureau (NBTC) in a response, the number of overnight guests grew by 0,7% in the first six months, but the number of overnight stays decreased by 1,5%.
The number of overnight stays decreased by 3% among guests from Germany and Belgium. NBTC cites shorter stays as a possible explanation, but also points to a broader change in booking behavior. Last-minute bookings are becoming more important, and consumers are keeping their options regarding destination and length of stay open for longer.
Making short stays easier to book
For accommodation businesses, this has implications for the structuring of their offerings. NBTC advises entrepreneurs to make shorter stays easier to book and to respond more flexibly to weekends, holidays, and weather conditions.
Visibility and immediate bookability also become more important when the final decision is made closer to the arrival date. According to NBTC, an offering primarily geared towards early-booked, longer holidays aligns less well with this development.
Price is not the only explanation
According to NBTC, price does indeed play a role. The Netherlands has a relatively high price level, and the VAT increase will make an overnight stay more expensive. This could affect the international competitive position.
However, NBTC does not establish a direct causal link between price and the declining length of stay. Weather, economic and geopolitical uncertainty, and the timing of school holidays and public holidays can also influence vacation behavior. Moreover, in the June 2026 Holiday Sentiment Monitor, NBTC did not yet observe a clear deterioration in the international price perception of the Netherlands.
More changes with the same number of guests
For campsites, holiday parks, and hotels, a shift towards shorter stays means that a comparable or even higher number of guests does not automatically result in more overnight stays. This can also have operational implications: more arrivals and departures, cleaning times, and bookings are required to achieve the same number of occupied nights.
That operational consequence is not quantified separately in the NBTC response, but does follow from a situation in which more guests collectively stay fewer nights.
More information
Source: Netherlands Tourism & Congress Bureau (NBTC), response from Yvonne Nassar on August 25, 2026. More information via NBTC . The figures and recommendations in the message were provided by NBTC; the source material does not mention a separate data source for the referred stay statistics. Image: Kevin Dowling via Unsplash.