why you should not overlook the benelux as a key travel market

When it comes to tourism marketing, many focus on the giants. Germany, France and the UK with their large population are for many brands and destinations considered as key markets. While the Benelux region (Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg) may be small in size, the tourism potential is huge. Here’s why smart brands and destinbations don’t overlook our market.

According to the latest Eurostat data on tourism nights, Germany is the only country whose residents spend more total nights abroad than the Dutch. Consider this relative to our small population and it is clear that the Netherlands is in a league of its own. This immense travel intensity means the target audience is exceptionally eager to travel abroad more often and for longer periods.

Even though the said key markets are the largest outbound markets, the combined force of the Benelux is impressive too. Based on 2023 outbound tourism expenditure data, the Netherlands and Belgium alone places the region in Europe’s top tier. With Luxembourg, which has one of the highest per-capita travel expenditures in the world, the Benelux easily rivals other key markets.

The ultimate argument and key advantage is efficiency. The entire region is densely populated and key cities like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Brussels and Antwerp are all within two hours. The excellent infrastructure and world-class airports (Amsterdam Schiphol and Brussels Airport) making it very easy for both marketing teams as our travel-savvy residents. Also, the travel industry is concentrated and sometimes even overlapping the Netherlands and Belgium making it a very cost- and effort-effective market to activate.