With the Dutch May holiday period starting this weekend and continuing into next week, Antwerp is preparing for a renewed influx of visitors from the Netherlands. Dutch tourists remain by far the city’s largest international market, both for day trips and overnight stays, according to the latest available figures from the city.
Dutch visitors dominate day tourism
In 2025, Dutch visitors accounted for 44% of all international day tourists in Antwerp, contributing to a total of 16,271,561 day visits, Gazet van Antwerpen reports. This places them well ahead of other markets, with Germany representing 8%, and France, Spain, and the United Kingdom each around 5%.
The dominance of Dutch visitors is also reflected in mobility data. At park-and-ride facilities, 17% of unregistered cars at Luchtbal, 12% at Merksem and 9% at Linkeroever carried Dutch licence plates.
Strong presence in overnight stays
Dutch tourists also lead in overnight tourism, making up 31.5% of all international stays. They are followed by Germany (14%), the United Kingdom (8%), France (6.5%), and the United States (6.5%).
According to Toon Jacobs, coordinator of the Visitor Center at Het Steen, Dutch visitors are mainly attracted by Antwerp’s culinary offer, hospitality sector and exhibitions that receive attention in Dutch media.
Spending data from Tourism Flanders indicate that Dutch overnight visitors spend on average €164 per person per night in Flemish art cities, while day visitors typically spend between €40 and €60.
Economic impact across retail and hospitality
Retail and hospitality sectors report a significant economic contribution. Nico Volckeryck, regional director at the Neutral Union for the Self-Employed (Neutraal Syndicaat voor Zelfstandigen, NSZ), stated that Dutch visitors can generate up to 30% additional turnover during peak periods.
In fashion retail, high spending levels are observed, with some customers spending more than €1,000 per purchase.
The hotel sector has also recorded growth. Didier Boehlen, president of the Antwerp Hotel Association, noted that the share of Dutch guests increased from 31% to 33% in the past year and is expected to remain stable or grow further. He attributed this partly to the VAT increase on hotel stays in the Netherlands from 9% to 21%, introduced on 1 January, which has contributed to a perception that domestic hotel stays have become a luxury product, encouraging travel abroad.
Tourism activities see high demand
Tour operators are experiencing similar trends. Vincent Hellemans, organiser of City Golf tours, reported that Saturdays are largely dominated by Dutch groups, with around 20 groups per day, each consisting of 10 to 20 participants. Many of these tours include beer tastings at local breweries.
Concerns about liveability emerging
While the economic benefits are clear, concerns about the impact on residents are emerging. Jan van der Borg, professor of tourism at KU Leuven, and Dutch himself, warned that early signs of overtourism are becoming visible.
He indicated that residents’ associations have raised concerns about the growth of short-term rentals, which may affect housing affordability, and about a perceived decline in liveability in certain neighbourhoods.
Although Antwerp is not experiencing overtourism on the scale of cities such as Amsterdam or Venice, he noted that such issues often begin with changing public sentiment and stressed the need for timely consultation between stakeholders.
Limited issues reported by police
Local police report no structural problems linked to Dutch visitors, although occasional incidents occur, typically late at night and involving alcohol. Overall, authorities state that Dutch tourists are more often victims of theft or loss than a significant source of disturbance.
Key market with growing pressure points
With the May holiday expected to bring another peak in arrivals next week, Dutch tourism continues to play a central role in Antwerp’s visitor economy, while also prompting increasing attention to its long-term impact on the city.
On tourism
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- ANTWERP | 2022 tourism statistics show recovery towards 2019 numbers.
- ANTWERP | 2.2 million day tourists and 398K overnight stays in the summer of 2023.
- ANTWERP | 2 million day tourists and 337K overnight stays in the summer of 2022.
- ANTWERP | 570,000 visitors in 2025: KMSKA sets new record in third year after reopening.
- Antwerp hoteliers see strong year-end but brace for difficult 2026 as average room rates come under pressure.
- Tourism Flanders tightens Airbnb rules to protect housing for singles.
- Brussels shows strong tourism stats as it’s the leading city in the world for international meetings.
- Flanders continues post-pandemic tourism revival with the help of its beers.
- City of Antwerp prepares crackdown on Airbnb growth amid complaints in Sint-Andries.
- ANTWERP SUMMER 2025 | 2.9 million day-trippers and 552,161 overnight stays.
- INDIA | Skyscanner sees rise of ‘shared experiences’ as travel trend.
- BELGIUM | Flight shame? Airports break records during 2025 summer season.
- Belgium sees record number of overnight stays via online platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.
- Antwerp 5th on 2025 Happy City Index.
- Flanders highlights Castles of the Brussels Green Belt.
- Tourism Flanders to tackle illegal Airbnb accommodations amidst housing shortage reality.
- Belgians choose safety, sustainability and convenience for summer travel: climate change, geopolitical instability and flight convenience shape 2025 holiday trends.
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- OPINION | Travelling on a package holiday.
- Are there too many hotels in Antwerp?.
- Antwerp number 1 of 40 most exciting cities to visit in 2024.
- CLIMATE CHANGE & TRAVEL | Is Belgium ready to be the Spain and Italy of the future?.
- Flanders’ art cities residents still proud of their city, but highlight drawbacks of tourism more
- Antwerp hotel industry demands stricter rules and enforcement for Airbnb as business tourism is not recovering.
- Belgians make 4.5 million day trips to Antwerp every year.
- The Major Flaws of domestic tourism in Belgium.
- Discovering Belgium and the Netherlands in COVID times.
Some tourism statistics
- Taiwan tourism rebounds, Belgian market recovers, but cost pressures and geopolitical risks shape outlook.
- CURAÇAO | Tourism records for 2025, with 11,500 travellers from Belgium.
- International tourism to the United States continues to slide in 2026.
- Morocco records historic tourism year with 19.8 million visitors in 2025.
- Flanders continues to grow as a tourist destination with over 15 million visitors in 2025.
- Greece sets new tourism records in 2025 with nearly 38 million visitors.
- Thailand happy with Belgian visitor numbers and welcomes Tomorrowland festival.
- Belgian travel stats to the United States continued to decline throughout 2025.
- Is Greece too popular? 2024 tourism statistics raise overtourism concerns.
- TRAIN TRAVEL | European Union records 429 billion passenger-kilometres in 2023 but domestic travel still dominates.
- 5 million passengers flew from and to Brussels Airport in summer 2025.
- BELGIUM | Flemish museums attracted more than 4.8 million visitors in 2023.
- Belgium sees modest tourism growth in 2024, led by Flanders and Brussels.
- Travel in 2024: Spain, France, USA, China, Mexico lose ground and Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, UAE to grow market share.
- France, Spain, USA, China and Italy most visited countries in the world, Belgium 41st.
- France welcomed 100 million international visitors in 2024.
- Turkey welcomed 62 million international tourists who together spent $61 billion in 2024.
- SPAIN | 94 million international visitors and €108.7 billion tourism income in 2024.
- UN WORLD TOURISM BAROMETER | International tourism recovers pre-pandemic levels in 2024.
- Outside the EU, Europeans mostly travel to Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
- Intra-European travel mostly for fun and / or family.
- Europeans visit other European countries over 7 nights on average.
