The Dutch are booking their holiday shorter and shorter before departure and have paid 60% more for their trip last summer than in other years. And although it is stormy with booking sunny destinations in Spain, Greece and Turkey for the upcoming autumn holidays, the Netherlands has been by far the most popular holiday destination in the past two years.
This is evident from the Zoover Vakantiemonitor, which analyzes the search and booking behavior of millions of visitors to the review and booking site Zoover. In years without corona, the peak in the number of holiday travel bookings is in January. Due to uncertainty about holidays and travel restrictions, that peak has shifted to summer this year, with a slight dip in July. This summer there was an average of four weeks between booking and departure. “In the travel industry we speak of a last minute when people leave within six weeks of booking, so those four weeks are remarkably short. Especially during the summer period," says Lieneke Wijnia of Zoover. Also towards the autumn holidays, many people only book at the last minute, to be sure that their holiday can go ahead.
Also striking is the higher travel sum that the Dutch spend on their holiday this year. This rose to an average of 2382 euros this summer. In recent years, the average travel sum was around 1500 euros, so there is an increase of 60%. This was not so much due to the prices of holidays, which rose in May and fell again in June.
“No, people really go for more luxury, such as 4- and 5-star hotels. A quarter of the bookings were at 5-star hotels. This has never been this high. Also, most people book all inclusive, so they don't necessarily have to leave the resort. But that is a more expensive concept.”
Zoover offers 15.000 package holidays from almost all travel providers and can therefore give a clear indication of the booking behavior of holidaymakers. Every year, 30 million visitors search the site for holiday destinations. This way Zoover can see what the most popular countries and regions are. The top 3 most booked trips have not changed in the past quarter compared to the previous one. Spain is number one, followed by Greece and Turkey. A shift can be seen in the top-rated countries. Here Portugal (8,99) has taken over the lead from the Dominican Republic. Turkey is still in second place (8,8), followed by newcomer Austria (8,47).
“Portugal has been in the top 5 best-booked countries for a long time. It often has small-scale and luxurious accommodations and is quieter than other holiday countries. Austria has become more popular among car holidays this year. It is relatively close and has a lot of space and nature. That fits well in these times.”
Nevertheless, the Netherlands has been and remains the most popular holiday destination since last year. It also leads the top 3 in car holidays, ahead of France and Italy. Compared to pre-corona year 2019, the Netherlands shows a growth of 22%. Within the Netherlands, shifts are visible. Where Limburg was the most popular region in previous years, this year it is Gelderland. In the past quarter, Noord-Brabant and Overijssel displaced number three Zeeland to fifth place. The popularity of the Netherlands gives Zoover confirmation to make a new start with the Zoover Awards next year. The annual public awards for holiday destinations will be awarded digitally in January 2022.
Also read: ANWB is ready for winter with the Reiswijzer
