The Netherlands has more and more new hotels. Nearly 2 000 hotels have sprung up in the last ten years, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS). Brabant is popular with both tourists and business people.
The Brabant region had almost 2 million business overnight stays in 2018, according to VisitBrabant. This includes visitors from Germany and Belgium, but also from Asia. “We know that, among other things, Van Gogh’s heritage in Brabant has great appeal to the Asian market.”
According to the CBS, as of 2019, West Brabant has 125 hotels, Central Brabant a hundred, and Northeast Brabant, 170. Southeast Brabant, where Eindhoven lies, has the highest number at 200 hotels.
A room to sleep in
One of these new hotels is The Match in Eindhoven, which opened six months ago. This hotel has no receptionist. Hotel guests check themselves in. The hotel rooms have a bed, bathroom, TV, and internet. Its facilities are basic, but according to owner Paul Schuur, that is what the modern hotel guest wants. “They sleep here, but then they are out the door.”
The hotel has a high occupancy rate. “Business is very good. There is still room for more hotels, because of, among other things, the airport’s growth. As far as I am concerned, a few more hotel chains such as the Hilton and Marriott can open in Eindhoven. That would give the city more prestige. ”
Overflow from the Randstad
Ko Koens, a tourism researcher at the Breda University of Applied Sciences (formerly NHTV), thinks there will be a continued increase in hotel rooms in the Netherlands. “Tourism has increased in Brabant too. You see an overflow from the Randstad here. The region has also developed enormously. Think of the Eindhoven technology campus, which attracts many business guests who have to sleep somewhere.”
“We must look at how we will manage the increase in tourists. If you get too many tourists in certain places, that can cause problems. We must avoid the same scenarios that have occurred in Amsterdam. You have to consider what type of visitor you want here,” says Koens.
Source: Omroep Brabant
Translation: Nicole Cullinan
Editor: Melinda Walraven
