Covid-19, the war in Ukraine, Schiphol, and high prices have very little influence on the holiday plans of the Dutch.
The number of travel insurance policies taken out in 2022 at ING shows that there is a clear increase in wanderlust. Compared to last year, the amount of travel insurance policies is 50% higher. The Dutch are also travelling outside of Europe again, as is apparent from the coverage and claims from far away countries.
After a forced break of 2 years due to Covid-19, the Dutch are ready for a foreign summer holiday filled with sun. This is apparent from GfK’s annual survey commissioned by travel industry organization ANVR.
Covid-19, the war in Ukraine, the staffing problems at Schiphol, inflation, and higher prices for the holidays: they have very limited influence on the holiday plans of the large majority this year. However, the increase of car holidays is continuing at the expense of flying holidays and travelers are booking more last minute.
Flying remains the most popular, but car holidays are on the rise
Nearly 4 in 10 travelers opt for a beach holiday this summer. This is especially at the expense of touring holidays. The holiday can have its cost with an average of € 2000, this is almost 12% higher than last year. The plane remains the most booked mode of transport, but own transport (car) is becoming increasingly popular.
Almost 4 out of 10 prefer to go by car. This also influences bookings: approximately 30% only arrange accommodation in advance.
The main reason to book the trip and accommodation in one package is because of its convenience. Those who prefer to put together the trip themselves do so mainly because they like it and think they are more flexible.
Dutch traveler books closer to the departure date
In 2022 trips are booked much closer to the departure date than in earlier years. More than 30% book their holiday less than 2 months in advance. This is higher than in 2021 but also compared to 2019 (+25%).
More than 4 in 10 travelers intend to book a foreign holiday for this summer, mainly beach holidays and city trips (both 29%). These figures are from May/June. Some of this group will already have booked. For 75% of the recent bookers, Covid-19 no longer influences their booking behavior. 15% of the rest do travel but prefer to stay closer to home. The war in Ukraine has no influence on the holiday for two-thirds of the travelers. The rest adjusts the holidays slightly; only 1% indicate that they do not go on holiday at all for this reason.
Rising prices hardly affect holiday behavior
The Netherlands spends considerably more on their booked holiday and more than half indicate that the current price increases in daily life have no influence on the summer holiday. For the rest, however, it does lead to an adjustment of the holiday: traveling closer to home, less luxurious, or shorter. Only 1 in 10 bookers has doubts about going on holiday this year.
Problems Schiphol
Nearly a quarter of the Dutch indicated in May that they were looking for alternatives to the problems at Schiphol, such as booking through another airport (11%), a holiday by car (8%), or a holiday in the Netherlands (5%).
Source: travelpro.nl