Entrepreneurs in the tourism sector see slightly more tourists coming to Drenthe during Easter than a year ago. That means a busy weekend in the catering industry and at many bungalow parks, group accommodations and B&Bs.
The bookings for Easter are on average slightly higher than last year. This is evident from research by Marketing Drenthe. Group accommodations in particular are satisfied. 79 percent of the entrepreneurs with a group accommodation view the occupancy positively, 21 percent are dissatisfied. 70 percent of the owners of holiday parks are satisfied, no one in this branch is dissatisfied.
Campsite owners are less satisfied (32 percent). A quarter of the house owners are even dissatisfied.
“In general it looks good,” says Yvonne Cornax of Marketing Drenthe. “We have just had a few crazy corona years. This year seems to be a ‘normal’ year again for the first time. Only the camping sector is lagging behind a bit.”
This has everything to do with the fact that the camping sector had two very good years during corona. “The Dutch chose to discover their own country and Drenthe was popular,” says Cornax.
Last year people were able to travel again. “That was an exciting year for the camping sector. The peak was then behind us. But if we compare it to 2019, the year before corona, the campsites are still doing well. We now have to wait and see how that trend continues. Abroad is now attracting more. At the same time, the increased cost of living may be a reason to continue camping in your own country.”
Where campsites had good corona years, group accommodations had a tough time. Cornax now sees a change there. “People no longer went on holiday in groups, the group outings were left behind. But we are now seeing that all the way back.”
A sector that benefits from all tourists who come to Drenthe is the hospitality industry. Seven out of ten hospitality entrepreneurs say they are positive about the number of bookings. The remaining thirty percent is neutral. “For a large part of the year, these are mainly local people who use the catering industry. But during periods such as Easter, the number of tourists also increases,” says Cornax.
Until the summer holidays, the number of bookings appears to be at an average level for most tourism sectors. The period around Ascension and Pentecost looks particularly positive. For most other periods, bookings are lagging behind by a fifth to a quarter.
The group market has had a difficult time in recent years, but there seems to have been a turnaround. The sentiment here is a lot more positive.