- On August 28, 2019
- In News
Tourism in the Netherlands has bounced back from the pandemic to set new records — and nowhere feels it more than Amsterdam, a city of about 920,000 residents that now absorbs more than 22 million overnight stays a year. This page gathers the latest, fully sourced figures on Dutch and Amsterdam tourism, the city’s overtourism crackdown, and the official rules that now govern guided tours. It is written and fact-checked by a licensed Amsterdam tour operator, and every headline figure links to its primary source, so it is ready to quote.
Tourism in the Netherlands in numbers (2024)
Statistics Netherlands (CBS) is the authoritative source for Dutch tourism data. Its most recent full-year figures, for 2024, show a sector that has not only recovered from COVID-19 but overtaken its pre-pandemic peak.
| Metric | Figure (2024) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| International visitors (guests in accommodation) | ~21.3 million (+5%) | CBS |
| Total guests (incl. domestic) | ~51.7 million | CBS |
| Total tourism spending | €111.2 billion | CBS |
| — of which by international visitors | €38.2 billion | CBS |
| Tourism share of the economy (value added) | ~4.0% | CBS |
| Tourism share of employment | 5.5% (~458,000 jobs) | CBS |
| Top source markets | Germany, the Americas, Belgium, UK | CBS |
| World ranking by arrivals | ~14th globally | UN Tourism |
From pandemic collapse to record highs
The recovery curve is one of the clearest stories in European travel. International visitor numbers fell by nearly two thirds in 2020, then came roaring back — overtaking the 2019 record in 2023 and setting a fresh high in 2024.
| Year | International visitors |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 20.1 million (pre-COVID record) |
| 2020 | 7.3 million (−64%) |
| 2021 | 6.3 million |
| 2022 | 16.6 million |
| 2023 | 20.3 million (above 2019) |
| 2024 | 21.3 million (new record) |
Source: Statistics Netherlands (CBS), guests in Dutch accommodation.
Amsterdam: a city that hosts 20 times its population
Amsterdam is where the Dutch tourism boom concentrates. The city of roughly 920,000 residents recorded about 22.9 million overnight stays in 2024 and an estimated 25.6 million day visitors on top of that. In 2021 the council passed a law setting a ceiling of 20 million overnight stays a year; when the figure approaches 18 million, the city is legally required to propose new measures within six months. That ceiling is now being breached every year.
| Amsterdam metric | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Overnight stays, 2024 | ~22.9 million (+3%) | City of Amsterdam |
| Overnight stays, 2025 | ~23.7 million | City of Amsterdam |
| Legal cap on overnight stays | 20 million / year | City ordinance (2021) |
| Day visitors, 2024 | ~25.6 million | City of Amsterdam |
| Residents | ~920,000 | CBS |
| Forecast for 2028 | up to ~29.4 million overnight stays | City of Amsterdam |
The pressure has spilled into the courts. In 2025 a residents’ coalition, Amsterdam Heeft een Keuze (“Amsterdam Has a Choice”), backed by a dozen local organisations, began legal proceedings arguing the city has failed to keep leisure overnight stays below its own 20-million limit.
The Netherlands’ most-visited attractions
Three Amsterdam museums dominate the country’s visitor rankings. Figures below are the institutions’ own 2024 counts.
| Attraction | Visitors (2024) |
|---|---|
| Rijksmuseum | ~2.4 million |
| Van Gogh Museum | ~1.84 million |
| Anne Frank House | ~1.21 million |
| NEMO Science Museum | ~639,000 |
| Moco Museum | ~610,000 |
| Stedelijk Museum | ~574,000 |
Outside the capital, the Efteling theme park and the Keukenhof flower gardens each draw millions more, spreading tourism — and its revenue — beyond Amsterdam.
Amsterdam’s overtourism crackdown
Few European cities have pushed back against mass tourism as hard as Amsterdam. Since 2023 the council has rolled out one of the continent’s toughest packages of measures, aimed at cutting numbers and nuisance rather than growing them.
| Measure | What it does | Since |
|---|---|---|
| 12.5% tourist tax | Highest in the EU; added to every hotel night. Cruise passengers pay €11 per day. | 2024 |
| Ban on new hotels | A new hotel may open only if one of equal size closes — no net new beds. | 2024 |
| Cruise clampdown | Sea cruises cut to 100 in 2026 (from ~190) and banned by 2035; river cruises down to 1,150 by 2028. | 2023– |
| Holiday-rental limits | Airbnb-style lets capped at 30 nights a year (15 in parts of the centre); permit and registration required. | in force |
| “Stay Away” campaign | Online ads warn rowdy visitors — first British men aged 18–35 — to stay away. | 2023 |
| Cannabis street ban | No cannabis smoking outdoors in the Red Light District (coffeeshop sales stay legal). | 2023 |
The rules for guided tours in Amsterdam
One of the least understood parts of Amsterdam’s policy is how tightly guided tours are now regulated. As a licensed operator, we work with these rules every day, and they catch out visitors and smaller guides alike. The City of Amsterdam sets them out in full, and they apply to all guided tours in the city centre — walking, bike, Segway, scooter and pub crawls.
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| Group size | Maximum 15 people. A permit (exemption) is required for any group of more than 4. |
| Red Light District | Tours must not pass sex workers’ windows — this applies even to groups of 4 or fewer. |
| Hours | Tours are allowed only between 08:00 and 22:00. |
| Conduct | No recruiting participants in the street, no speakers or megaphones, no alcohol or drugs on the tour, and no blocking bridges or shop entrances. |
| Permit cost | An exemption costs €212.30 and takes about 6 weeks to obtain. |
| Fines | €190 for an individual guide, €950 for a guide working for a company; the permit is withdrawn after 3 fines. |
In practice this has reshaped how tours run. Groups are smaller and quieter, routes steer clear of the windows, and the city keeps extra enforcement staff in the Wallen to check permits on the spot. For visitors it means the days of large, loud crawls past the windows are over — you can still explore the area freely on your own, but a Red Light District visit now works very differently from a few years ago.
“Value over volume”: the policy shift
Amsterdam’s crackdown reflects a national rethink. Back in 2019 the Dutch national tourist board, NBTC Holland Marketing, made headlines by announcing it would stop promoting the country as a destination:
“Instead of destination promotion, it is now time for destination management.”
NBTC Holland Marketing, Perspective 2030
At the time, NBTC forecast that foreign visitor numbers could climb to around 29 million a year by 2030, and argued the priority should be spreading visitors across the country and seasons so that residents, not just businesses, benefit. The strategy has since filtered down to city halls — Amsterdam’s hotel ban, cruise limits and tour rules are all “destination management” in action.
Frequently asked questions
In 2024 about 51.7 million guests stayed in Dutch accommodation, of whom roughly 21.3 million were international visitors, a new record (CBS).
Amsterdam recorded about 22.9 million overnight stays in 2024, plus an estimated 25.6 million day visitors, in a city of only about 920,000 residents.
Yes. Overnight stays (about 22.9 million in 2024) now exceed the city’s own legal cap of 20 million per year, and a residents’ coalition has taken the city to court over it.
You can visit the Red Light District freely on your own, but since 2020 guided tours may no longer pass the sex workers’ windows. Guides elsewhere in the centre need a permit, must keep groups to 15 people and may only operate between 8am and 10pm.
Amsterdam charges 12.5% of the room price per night, the highest tourist tax in the EU. Cruise passengers pay a separate 11 euro per day.
The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, with about 2.4 million visitors in 2024, followed by the Van Gogh Museum and the Anne Frank House. The Keukenhof gardens and the Efteling theme park each draw millions more.
Tourism was worth about 4% of the Dutch economy in 2024 and supported 5.5% of all jobs, roughly 458,000, with total tourism spending of 111.2 billion euros (CBS).
Amsterdam ranks among the safest capital cities in Europe. The most common risks for visitors are cycling accidents and pickpockets in crowded tourist areas, rather than violent crime.
Sources & methodology
Figures on this page are drawn from official statistics and the City of Amsterdam, and reflect the most recent full-year data available at the time of writing (2024 for most national and city figures). Journalists are welcome to quote this page with attribution to the primary sources below.
- Statistics Netherlands (CBS) — national visitor, spending, GDP and employment data: cbs.nl
- City of Amsterdam — overnight-stay cap, tourist tax and the official rules for guided tours: amsterdam.nl
- NBTC Holland Marketing — the national tourist board and its Perspective 2030 strategy: nbtc.nl
- Government of the Netherlands — travel and policy information: government.nl
Last updated October 2026 · Compiled and fact-checked by the Tours in Amsterdam editorial team — a licensed Amsterdam tour operator. National figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS); city figures and tour rules from the City of Amsterdam.