Eliza was here gauges the holiday plans of the Dutchman

It is not surprising that travelling is in the top 3 of things we missed during the pandemic. Now that it is possible again in abundance, it becomes clear that holidaying is done in a different way than pre-corona. Travel organisation Eliza was here researched the travel plans of 2,000 Dutch people and found out that the majority would like to go abroad again to spend their holidays, although we prefer to stay in Europe. Furthermore, the Dutchman wants to enjoy his holiday often: he prefers several shorter holidays instead of one long one.

Celebrating holidays equals a feeling of freedom. Research* by Eliza was here shows that the Dutchman has missed this enormously over the past few years; it is even in the top 3 of things he missed most during the pandemic, after restaurant visits and social activities. For almost half of the Dutch, staying at home felt like a brake on their freedom. Now that it is possible and allowed again without restrictions and rules, the feeling of happiness that people experience when travelling is reinforced. For example, 75% say that their holiday is still the happiest time of the year.

Hello Europe, bye bye staycation
For almost two years, going on holiday in your own country or staying at home was the only option. Now that this is no longer necessary, the Dutchman prefers to go abroad. Only 13% still feel like going on holiday in their own country. Nevertheless, the Dutchman prefers not to go too far: 70% prefer to stay within Europe and say that they are not inclined to travel outside the European borders. This is a clear difference with the results of the previous survey conducted in February 2020, when more than a quarter of the Dutch population indicated that they would prefer to travel outside of Europe.

Preferring frequent holidays to long ones
Traditionally, the Dutchman plans a long trip, usually in the summer months. This now seems to be shifting. Figures show that almost a third (29%) of Dutch people prefer several shorter holidays of 6 to 8 days, instead of one long holiday once a year. This could be a logical consequence of the fact that seven out of ten Dutch people indicate that all stress falls away from them the moment they arrive at their holiday destination.

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Contact Yf Brodala, media strategist @ Sunweb Group