Around 13 million international tourists visited one of the top 50 tourist destinations in the Netherlands, accounting for almost a third of the total number of 40 million visits.

Top 5 attractions international tourists

1) Zaanse Schans (1,6 million)
2) Van Gogh Museum (1,6 million)
3) Canal Company Rondvaart (1,2 million)
4) Anne Frank Huis (1,2 million)
5) Rijksmuseum (1,1 million)

Increase in international tourism

The Dutch tourism board NBTC Holland Marketing estimates that a total of 14,9 million international tourists visited the Netherlands in 2015, counting not just the top destinations.

That’s a seven percent increase over 2014. The majority came from Germany, while China showed the strongest growth at 21 percent. About 80 percent of the international visitors came from Europe.

In 2015, the number of German visitors exceeded the four million mark for the first time, as more than 4,2 million of them visited the Netherlands, an increase of 10 percent.

Belgium ranks second with almost two million visitors which means it overtook the United Kingdom compared to 2014, thanks to an eight percent increase. Great Britain ranks third with well over 1,9 million visitors, an increase of 5 percent over the previous year.

In 2015 visitor numbers from Europe increased substantially, especially from Belgium and Germany. A big reason for the exceptional growth from Germany is that the Netherlands has benefited from the increase in the number of short breaks its neighbour to the east has.

More Chinese and Americans

China showed the biggest growth in terms of percentage. The number of Chinese visitors increased almost 300.000.

For the first time since 2006 more than one million Americans visited the Netherlands, an increase of three percent. This is likely the result of the recovering economy and favourable exchange rate.

The number of visitors from Russia decreased by 24 percent, mainly due to the geopolitical tensions and the weakened rouble. The number of Japanese visitors dropped by 15 percent to about 125.000.

The almost 15 million foreign visitors in 2015 spent about 37,2 million nights in the Netherlands, an 8 percent increase.

Top 10 tourist destinations (Dutch and international)

1) De Efteling
2) Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
3) Van Gogh Museum
4) Zaanse Schans
5) Diergaarde Blijdorp
6) Canal Company Rondvaart
7) Attractiepark Duinrell
8) Natura Artis Magistra
9) Anne Frank Huis
10) Keukenhof