Due to coronavirus rules and risks of infection, the majority of people living in the Netherlands plan to stay here for the summer instead of going on holidays abroad, a recent survey shows.

Survey shows majority will stay in the Netherlands this summer

Despite the fact that many European borders will open again for tourists on June 15, according to a survey conducted by EenVandaag, half of the respondents said they don’t plan on going on any summer holidays. A third of people want to go or have already booked but 42 per cent of those who planned a holiday will do so in the Netherlands.

The survey was undertaken by 29.000 people between June 5-8. The most common reason respondents gave for not planning a holiday is that it is “safer to be home because of corona”. Others are afraid that they will get infected with corona abroad or that they would not be able to get back home again if a major corona outbreak occurred abroad.

Those that answered that they do plan to go abroad this summer say they are willing to take the risk. One in five plan on going to a country with similar risks as the Netherlands: Germany (9 percent), Italy (4 percent), Belgium or Croatia ( 2 percent each).

A larger percentage want to visit France (9 percent), Greece (7 percent) or Spain (6 percent) and many of the people who plan to go to these countries have been there before. Gijs Rademaker of EenVandaag said: “people also indicate that they prefer to go to a place with which they are already familiar."

Car travel is popular this summer

Fewer holidaymakers will travel by plane this summer. The survey shows that car travel is going to be a clear favourite this summer. Three-quarters of travellers who have already booked or are planning to book say that they will travel to their destination by car. "People don't dare to fly. They see that as a major risk factor,” explains Rademaker. One respondent said, "In case of problems, we can go home by car immediately."

Another insight from the poll is that age plays an important role. The over 55s are more inclined to play it safe. Younger working couples and families appear less vulnerable and feel more of an urge to go on holidays. According to Rademaker, this is "something we have seen in our investigations for months."

Foreign tourists coming to the Netherlands 

The question about whether foreign tourists will be welcome in the Netherlands is quite divisive in the survey. More than half of respondents say that they are concerned about a new major outbreak of the virus in the Netherlands with the arrival of tourists. Last week, the government asserted that tourists from the UK and Sweden are not welcome in the Netherlands this summer.

The consequences of coronavirus on the future of travel remain to be seen. Over 40 percent of participants believe that the coronavirus crisis has made them think differently about the way they go on holiday. One respondent wrote: "I can see that it is precisely this type of travel around the world that can cause pandemics."