Tourism / Leasure sector in Benelux

Tourism in Luxembourg is an important component of the national economy, representing about 8.3% of GDP in 2009 and employing some 25,000 people or 11.7% of the working population.[1] Despite the 2008–2012 global recession, the Grand Duchy still welcomes over 900,000 visitors a year who spend an average of 2.5 nights in hotels, hostels or on camping sites.[2] Business travel is flourishing representing 44% of overnight stays in the country and 60% in the capital, up 11% and 25% between 2009 and 2010.[3] Published by the World Economic Forum in March 2011, the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report puts Luxembourg in 15th place worldwide, up from 23rd place in 2009.

Tourism in Belgium is one of Belgium’s industries, and its accessibility from elsewhere in Europe still makes it a popular tourist destination. The tourist industry generates 2.8% of Belgium’s gross domestic product and employs 3.3% of the working population (142,000 people). 6.7 million people travelled to Belgium in 2005.[2] Two thirds of them come from the larger nearby countries – France, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Germany.

In 2011 the Netherlands was visited by 11.3 million foreign tourists.[1] In 2012, the Dutch tourism industry contributed 5.4% in total to the country’s GDP and 9.6% in total to its employment. With its global ranking of 147th and 83rd place for total contribution to respectively GDP and employment, tourism is a relatively small sector of the Dutch economy.

North Holland was by far the most popular province for foreign tourists in 2011. Out of all 11.3 million tourists, 6 million visited North Holland. South Holland took the second place with 1.4 million. Germans, Britons and Belgians made up the majority of foreign tourists, respectively 3, 1.5 and 1.4 million

Biggest Companies in the sector

Tourism / Leasure Clusters

Tourism / Leasure Fairs