Almost half of Dutch households plan to holiday in the Netherlands this year, according to new figures from the Dutch tourism bureau NBTC.

This year, some 3.9 million households will holiday at home, 100,000 more than in 2008. And if the good weather continues, that percentage is likely to increase, the NBTC said. By contrast, 4.1 million households will head abroad.
The number of foreign tourists coming to the Netherlands is set to go down by 200,000 to 2.4 million, the organisation says. In particular, fewer British and American holidaymakers are expected.

School holidays
The school summer holidays begin this weekend, with the last schools going back at the beginning of September.
Schools in the north kick off the staggered holiday season on Friday and motoring organisation ANWB warns some 400,000 will be heading off to the sun this weekend.
France and Germany are the most popular destinations and heavy traffic is expected on the roads, the organisation said.