Growth continues in 2015

In the first ten months of 2015, the number of overnight stays in Amsterdam grew by 3.2%. This growth is the result of an increase of 4.3%  in the number of overnight stays generated by international visitors. The number of overnight stays generated by Dutch visitors has decreased by 2.0% in the same period. The first quarter (the low season months in Amsterdam) showed the strongest growth compared to 2014, with 6.4% for both international and Dutch visitors. July and August displayed the strongest declines for the number of overnight stays by Dutch visitors with  -10.8% and -15.2% respectively, while the overnight stays by international visitors grew with 7.6% and 2.4%. Altogether, the number of overnight stays in Amsterdam continues to increase, however somewhat slower than in the years before. For instance, in the first ten months of 2014 there was an increase of 10.7% in overnight stays compared to 2013.

The growth percentages in the number of overnight stays generated by the core markets of Amsterdam show changing trends in the first ten months of 2015. Germany (7.5%), the UK (6.3%), Spain (6.7%) and Italy (4.1%) show strong growth compared with 2014. The number of US overnight stays shows little growth (1.2%) compared to the same period in 2014. On the other hand, Belgium and France show a decline of respectively -9.2% and -3.1%. The number of Dutch overnight stays decreased as well (-2.0%).

Just like the number of overnight stays by visitors from the core markets, the number of overnight stays by visitors from the so-called ‘opportunity markets’ show a similar variety in trends in the first ten months of 2015. Indonesia (+ 33.3%) and China (+32.8%) register the fastest growth rates. India, South-Korea, Turkey and Brazil also generate a higher number of overnight stays in Amsterdam, with +21.3%, +20.0%, 19.6% and 16.1% respectively. The ‘opportunity markets’ Australia (-1.6%), Japan (-5.8%) and Russia (-28.1%) register a decrease in the number of overnight stays. The sharp drop in overnight stays by Russian visitors is directly linked to the crisis in Ukraine and the poor exchange rate of the Russian Rouble. This trend, was particularly visible in the last quarter of 2014 and continues in 2015.

The total number of leisure and business overnight stays rose by 3.9% in the first ten months of 2015. There are however significant differences in terms of trends between both segments. The number of leisure overnight stays increased by 6.7% in the first ten months of 2015, while the number of business overnight stays decreased by -2.8%. The decline was the strongest in August: -7.7% compared to August 2014.

The number of overnight stays in the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (excluding Amsterdam) increased by 2.5% during the first ten months of 2015. The number of Dutch overnight stays increased by 1.9% and the number of international overnight raised by 3.1% compared to 2014. In February, the growth in the total number of overnight stays was the highest with 9.3%.

The amount of visitors to museums has increased with 5.4% in 2015 compared to 2014. The number of arrivals generated by foreign passengers at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol has increased as well, by 7.8%. The attractions  also display a small increase of 2.3%, this mainly due to an increase of almost 15% of visitors in december.