Amsterdam recorded 38% fewer business hotel guests in 2025 than before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Research by ABN Amro found that business guests fell from 5.82 million in 2019 to 3.59 million in 2025.
Their share of overnight hotel stays also dropped from 32% to nearly 18%.
Leisure tourists have filled many of the empty rooms. However, figures from the Netherlands Board of Tourism show that business travellers spend about twice as much as leisure visitors.
The decline has created a financial problem for hotels, restaurants and other businesses that rely on visitors.
“The decline hits hotels directly. Business guests typically book on weekdays and outside vacation periods,” ABN Amro researcher Stef Driessen said.
Leisure visitors often travel during weekends, holidays and the summer season.
Business guests help hotels maintain bookings during weekdays and quieter periods. They also spend more on accommodation, restaurants, taxis and meeting facilities.
Amsterdam has spent years trying to attract what officials describe as quality visitors.
The city considers business travellers attractive because they spend more money and are less likely to cause problems associated with party tourism.
Researchers also found that more people are visiting Amsterdam without staying overnight.
Some international tourists now book accommodation outside the city and travel into the centre during the day.
About 61% of international visitors to Amsterdam’s city centre are day visitors.
The figure rises to 85% among Dutch visitors.
This change means Amsterdam can remain busy without hotels and other local businesses receiving the same level of income from overnight guests.
It may also make it harder for the city to reduce overcrowding. Day visitors use public spaces and attractions but do not pay Amsterdam’s hotel taxes.
Figures reviewed by ibynews.com show that Amsterdam’s tourism industry has recovered in visitor numbers since the pandemic. However, the type of visitor has changed.
The city now receives fewer high-spending business guests and more leisure tourists and day visitors.
