While the recreation sector in the Netherlands has recovered from a decline caused by the coronavirus pandemic, rising prices are making residents more cautious about their spending habits. One in three people have reduced their outings to cinemas, amusement parks, museums and zoos.

Recreational activities more expensive in the Netherlands

In an analysis of the different Dutch recreation sectors, ABN AMRO has determined that many are seeing sales return to “pre-corona” levels. During the lockdowns, many businesses in the leisure industry were negatively affected, especially cinemas, museums and theatres. 

When everything started opening up again, there was a significant growth in visitors, which stabilised last year. Now, consumers are more aware of rising costs and are returning to more frugal behaviours from before the pandemic.

Additional research by insurance company ANWB showed that one in three people went out less often in 2024, which may not come as a surprise as ticket prices for theatres, museums, cinemas, amusement parks and zoos have all become more expensive due to higher costs for energy, staff wages and purchasing. 30 percent of consumers purposely chose more affordable outings and 21 percent kept a lookout for savings and discount campaigns on activities. In fact, 54 percent of survey respondents said that they use promotions and offers when buying tickets for outings often or all of the time. 

Growth expected for leisure activities in the Netherlands

"Wages have gone up and the pressure on purchasing power has decreased. The average Dutch person built up quite a large savings buffer last year, partly due to the high interest rate and geopolitical uncertainty,” ABN AMRO economist Gerarda Westerhuis told AD. “I dare say that [despite this] the Dutch have become somewhat more cautious when it comes to their spending. They think more carefully: are we going to spend our money on this or not?"

Despite figures based on PIN payments and online spending showing that transactions are decreasing to a more stable level, the Dutch bank predicts that spending for many attractions will grow slightly this year. The increase in wages and the savings that many residents have built up are given as reasons for this.

The way businesses in the recreational sector adapt to trends and tourism are also likely to help. “Retailtainment”, which is the combination of retail, catering and entertainment, is becoming popular, as seen with Rif 010, a surfing centre in Rotterdam where people can surf and grab a drink or a bite to eat.

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