Article in the Gelderlander of July 30, 2018. Written by Daan Rieken
ARNHEM - The record-breaking heat may just as well produce a record summer for Gelderlander tourism. Due to the warm weather, campsites and vacation parks in particular are attracting more visitors than usual.
Exact figures on the summer season are not yet known, but everything points to more people spending their vacations in the Netherlands in 2018 than in previous years. ''Especially many last-minute bookers are now deciding to stay in their own country,'' says Elsje van Vuuren on behalf of the Netherlands Board of Tourism & Conventions (NBTC). ,,For the nice weather they do not need to cross the border."
This is also noticeable in Gelderland. ,,It is ideal tourism weather,'' believes Herre Dijkema, director of the Regional Bureau for Tourism Arnhem Nijmegen (RBT KAN). ,,Staying at campsites and vacation parks in the province is in demand. There are almost traffic jams in front of the barriers. Not only countrymen, but also foreigners seem to find the province good for a vacation."
Country trends
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TopParken, which rents out vacation homes throughout the country and in Gelderland has parks in Ede, Wageningen, Lichtenvoorde, Beekbergen, Aalst and Lunteren, sees the national trends reflected in the figures.
,,The bookings poured in from the moment the beautiful weather set in,'' reports marketing manager Chadli Hachani. ,,The occupancy rate at our parks in the high season is normally about 90 percent, now we are approaching 100. This is going to be a record summer."
Also at TopParken they suspect that this increase is caused by the fact that compared to previous years, more last minute bookers choose to stay in their own country. Hachani: ,,But people from abroad also see that it is nice weather in the Netherlands. At our Veluwe parks, for example, the majority of guests were always Dutch, but now we see remarkably more Belgians, Germans and French.''
