Some 44% of people in the Netherlands will not go abroad for their main holiday this year because of coronavirus fears, making staycations even more popular than had been thought.

New figures from the Dutch tourism board and the Schiphol airport group show a six percentage point increase in the number of people holidaying at home, compared with the previous survey at the start of the summer.

‘Most people planning a break are keen to avoid busy tourist centres,’ NBTC director Jos Vranken said.

In June, the tourist board started a campaign called ‘you need to be here’ (hier moet je zijn) to encourage people to less-frequented beauty spots.

Some 25% of people who say they do plan a longer break this year have yet to book anything, and last minutes are also proving popular, Vranken said.

‘But given only half of those who have not yet booked are still only looking at their options, it remains to be seen if they get away at all,’ Vranken said.

Check out the DutchNews.nl special travel section for local break suggestions.