With the visit of the Royal House to Maastricht during King’s Day, the provincial capital can count on a significant influx of visitors. The event costs a lot of money. But what does it do?
It turns out to be difficult to estimate in advance how much money the event in the provincial capital will bring in. “After King’s Day, we will take stock,” the municipality said.
Also read: King’s Day in Maastricht more expensive than estimated
Previous years
Yet one thing is clear: the yield has been extremely valuable in recent years, but cannot be expressed in numbers. The last ‘normal’ King’s Day, without corona measures, took place in 2019 in Amersfoort. The municipality cannot say what that yielded financially. “In euros it is not really possible to express what a King’s Day yields,” explains a spokeswoman. The municipality particularly emphasizes the intangible yield. The biggest gain is the sense of community that has arisen among the inhabitants of the city. In addition, according to Amersfoort, it is ‘great advertising for your city’.
Thorn, who was visited by the Royal Family in 2011, also confirms that these intangible returns far exceed the financial returns. “We see the media attention as a priceless commercial.”
Media attention
“It is already known that the media value will far exceed the investment”, the Municipality of Maastricht also informs L1. It is expected that 2.5 million people will watch live. “The enormous free publicity for the city that the event generates is priceless,” said the municipality. King’s Day will probably also yield a lot in the longer term because interest among tourists is aroused.
The Maastricht catering industry is also counting on a significant influx of visitors after the party, reports trade association Koninklijke Horeca Nederland (KHN). “People who have seen the city and then think they should come by,” the association hopes. KHN also cannot estimate how much King’s Day will yield in the short term. “There are no concrete figures available at the moment,” said a spokesperson.
Visitor numbers
In addition to the income, the number of visitors also remains difficult to determine. The Municipality of Maastricht informs L1 that ‘just’ the influence of the weather conditions makes it impossible to estimate the number of visitors. In any case, approximately 25,000 people can go along the route. “In addition, many people are expected to come to other events, such as the free market in the park.”
Also read: Maastricht expects up to 35,000 King’s Day visitors
Compared to previous editions of King’s Day, this is on the low side. At the time, 45,000 people stood along the route in Amersfoort and 12,000 visitors went to a King’s Day event. In Tilburg, in 2017, more than 150,000 visitors were counted.
Hotels
It is possible that it is mainly day-trippers who go to Maastricht on King’s Day. A spokesperson for Stichting Samenwerking Hotels Maastricht (SAHOT) says that there is no significant increase in the number of hotel bookings.
Booking.com also points out that ‘strikingly’ mainly Dutch people have booked accommodation during the event. The expectation that Belgians and Germans will cross the border for the royal couple is therefore not underlined.
Cost
The (as yet unclear) financial and intangible benefits of King’s Day are also offset by high costs associated with the festivities every year. In 2019, around 1.26 million euros was paid in Amersfoort for, among other things, the programme, promotion and safety. In Groningen, where King Willem-Alexander’s birthday was celebrated in 2018, the event also had a considerable price tag: 1.35 million euros.
Also read: This is all necessary for a safe King’s Day
In Maastricht they expect to pay a lot more: 1.5 million euros. That is just under two tons more than was estimated in 2020. Then the party in Maastricht was canceled due to corona.