Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

In 2008 a total of 10.1 million overnighting foreign visitors came to the Netherlands. This is an 8% decrease compared with 2007 (Source: Statistics Netherlands CBS).

Foreign tourists recorded 25 million overnight stays in the Netherlands in 2008, 10% less than in 2007. In 2008 foreign guests stayed an average of 2.5 nights in the Netherlands (Source: Statistics Netherlands CBS).

In 2008 the Netherlands received most foreign overnighting guests from: 1. Germany (2,669,000) 2. United Kingdom (1,639,000) 3. Belgium (1,109,000) 4. United States (800,000) 5. France (575,000) (Source: Statistics Netherlands CBS)

The top five areas where foreign guests had overnight stays in 2008 were: 1. The four major cities (4,330,000 guests) 2. North Sea seaside towns (1,343,000 guests) 3. West and Central Brabant (596,000 guests) 4. East Brabant, North and Central Limburg and Rijk van Nijmegen (491,000 guests) 5. South Limburg (348,000 guests) (Source: Statistics Netherlands CBS)

In 2008, a total of 8,035,000 foreign guests stayed at a hotel or bed-and-breakfast (80%), while 2,070,000 (20%) stayed at camping sites, bungalow parks or group accommodation (Source: Statistics Netherlands CBS).

A total of 2,216,000 foreign overnighting guests were recorded in 2008 by Statistics Netherlands (CBS). This is 22% of the total number of foreign overnighting guests (Source: Statistics Netherlands CBS).

In December 2008, 534,000 foreign overnighting guests visited the Netherlands, 17% less than in 2007 (Source: Statistics Netherlands CBS).

1. Holiday (63%) 2. Business (31%) 3. Other reason (6%) (Source: NBTC, 2005)

In 2008, 53% of the Dutch population spent at least one holiday in the Netherlands. In total, the Dutch had 17.4 million domestic holidays (Source: NBTC-NIPO Research, ‘ContinuVakantieOnderzoek’ (CVO)).

Popular holiday destinations for Dutch people in 2008 were: 1. North Sea seaside towns (1,949,000 guests) 2. Veluwe and Veluwerand (1,909,000 guests) 3. Groningen, Friesland and sandy plains of Drenthe (1,848,000 guests) 4. East Brabant, North and Central Limburg and Rijk van Nijmegen (1,714,000 guests) 5. West and Central Brabant (1,646,000 guests). (Source: NBTC-NIPO Research, ‘ContinuVakantieOnderzoek’ (CVO))

The following attractions got most visitors in 2008: 1. De Efteling (3,290,000) 2. Amsterdam canal tours (2,692,000) 3. Blijdorp zoo (1,608,000) 4. Burgers’ zoo (1,520,000) 5. Van Gogh Museum (1,470,000). (The figures stated above are the total numbers of visitors. A breakdown into numbers of foreign and Dutch visitors is unavailable).

The international business travel market consists of individual business visitors and MICE visitors. Within the business market the MICE segment accounts for approximately one-quarter of foreign arrivals. The abbreviation MICE concerns the foreign guest’s reason for visiting the Netherlands: - M: visit to meetings (Meetings) - I: incentive travel to the Netherlands (Incentives) - C: visit to conventions (Conventions) - E: visit to exhibitions (Exhibitions)

Association conventions bring together people with common professional, scientific or social interests. An association is an international grouping of people with the same interests or the same field of specialisation. A feature of association conventions is that they are usually recurring events with a long lead time and are seldom held in the same country within a short space of time. The country where the convention is held rotates. The organisation of theses conventions is usually handled by a group of initiators that form a local organising committee (LOC). This local counterpart invites the international association to hold a convention in its home country. Corporate meetings are national or international meetings held for a business purpose (meetings, product launches, training sessions, incentives, etc.) whereby the business community itself always takes the initiative.

The Netherlands came tenth in 2008 in the ranking of the international convention nations. This table is published each year by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).

The Netherlands came sixth in 2008 in the ranking of the congress destinations. This table is published each year by the Union of International Associations (UIA).

Two organisations that keep the global convention statistics are the Union of International Associations (UIA) and the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA). UIA, ICCA and NBTC apply different definitions of an international convention. Consequently, the Netherlands as a convention destination may occur at different positions in the global rankings of the ICCA and UIA. ICCA International convention criteria (association convention): • at least 50 participants • organised regularly (one-off conventions do not count) • convention must rotate between at least 3 countries UIA International convention criteria (association convention): • at least 250 participants • minimum number of foreigners: 40% • minimum number of nationalities: 5 • minimum duration of convention: 2 days NBTC NBTC applies the following criteria for an international convention or a business meeting: • purpose of the external meeting is to transfer knowledge • the convention or business meeting must last at least 2 days, i.e. there must be at least one overnight stay • minimum of 40 participants • at least 30% of all participants must reside outside the Netherlands • the meeting must take place in external accommodation (e.g. a hotel or convention centre or some other rentable space intended for the specific purpose of holding a meeting, although this does include universities and teaching hospitals)

2008 Total number of international conventions 1,333 Total number of convention participant days 1,108,896 Average number of participants 220 Average duration in days 3.4 (Source: NBTC) NBTC gathers data on international associations (non-corporate) and corporate meetings.

Insight into trends and developments Each year NBTC takes stock of how many international conventions and business meetings were held in the Netherlands. Using this information we evaluate the effect of our marketing activities in the business market and obtain an insight into our international competitive position. The international convention statistics also provide an insight into trends and developments in the MICE market in our country. These include trends in reasons for business travellers for visiting the Netherlands, development of the number of participants in the Netherlands or per region and whether there has been any increase or decrease in the number of conventions in the Netherlands. One step ahead The statistics also enable us to indicate the value of international meetings for the Netherlands. In other words, we can say how many euro the foreign business traveller spends in our country. The research is also important as a way of identifying expectations for the future. It makes it possible to get ready for developments, and thus be one step ahead of competing destinations. The more data, the better it is To develop reliable statistics it is crucially important to ensure the quality of the figures of all conventions in the Netherlands. NBTC works closely with the regional convention bureaus (RCBs) in gathering figures for the statistics. The convention venues play a vital role by providing NBTC and the RCBs with convention figures on which to base our convention statistics. The data that NBTC gathers include the number of conventions, their duration and the number of participants. It is also interesting to know for which field of specialisation a convention is organized. The more we know about the convention market, the better it is. Definition of international convention An important matter when submitting input is the definition of a convention. NBTC applies the following definition of an international convention: a multi-day meeting for the purpose of transferring knowledge held at a commercially exploited venue. The number of participants on the first day must be at least 40, with at least one-third of the participants residing outside the Netherlands. NBTC gathers information about international association conventions and also about international corporate conventions held in the Netherlands. Associations are defined as groupings of persons, organisations or states, while corporate meetings concern companies. The Netherlands in the world rankings Two organisations keep global convention statistics. They are the Union of International Associations (UIA) and the International Congress & Convention Association (ICCA). One problem is that UIA, ICCA and NBTC apply different definitions of an international convention. So the Netherlands may occur as a destination in different positions in the global rankings at ICCA and at UIA. NBTC supplies all available international convention information to these two organisations. Therefore, it is essential for NBTC to receive good input. That is why we urgently need the convention information of Dutch providers in the business travel market. The objective is obviously to ensure that the Netherlands gets a good position in the global rankings.

You can find them by means of the Statline module on the website of the CBS (Statistics Netherlands) at www.cbs.nl.