70 percent of the nature reserves in North Holland can no longer cope with the large amount of visitors. That appears from a report from the province about the rapidly growing and changing recreational pressure. The number of residents and tourists in North Holland continues to grow, which means that the peak crowds are only increasing.
Dunes, forests, lakes, the beach… North Holland has plenty of places to relax. At the same time, there are also many people who want to relax in often the same places. The number of nature visits has increased significantly in recent years. In 2018 we undertook 114 million trips, by 2030 it is predicted that another 20 million nature visits will be added.
Natural areas are already full, but will get even fuller. The number of inhabitants in North Holland is expected to increase from the current 2.9 million to almost 3.4 million in 2050. Add to that the expected 17.2 million extra tourists in 2050 and you arrive at a busy province with busy natural areas.
The nature reserves are not built for so many visitors, 70 percent of the areas are already overloaded. At the moment, the shortage of recreational places is greatest in the regions of West Friesland, Zaanstreek-Waterland and Amsterdam, Amstelland-Meerlanden. To allow everyone to relax in a nature reserve that is not overloaded, it appears that approximately 3.1 to 5.9 times as much recreational area is needed.
Clutter and startled birds
The hustle and bustle in nature has unpleasant consequences. It leads to clutter, vandalism and more problems with loitering and drug use. In addition, it is made difficult for the natural inhabitants: breeding birds are startled, nests are trodden down and grazers disturbed.
The researchers also predict that more and more different activities are being done in nature. Mountain bikers, horse riders, athletes, (electric) cyclists and walkers have different wishes. This can lead to nuisance among the various groups.
In addition, the nuisance caused by visitors leads to rising costs for nature organizations: more and more work is being done in maintenance and management. The many visitors, on the other hand, hardly bring any extra income to compensate for this.
1 to 5 kilometers travel
The research shows that Enkhuizerzand, Alkmaarderhout and Haarlemmerhout are the most visited by people of North Holland. The popularity of nature reserves is partly determined by the number of walking routes and the number of facilities.
The location also has an influence. Most people want to travel 1 to 5 kilometers for their trip and so nature reserves at that distance from a busy city become very crowded. This can be seen in the figures: the nature reserves in Amsterdam and Amstelland-Meerlanden were the most visited by people of North Holland.
Foreign tourists are expected to visit nature less, because they often prefer other places of interest. Dutch people who go on holiday in their own country do opt for nature, they often look for the coast.