Over the past five years, 6% of the country’s cafes and bars closed their doors for good but the total number of hospitality firms actually increased by 10%, according to new figures from the chamber of commerce.

The cafe closure rate was sharpest in the north, east and south-east, the chamber of commerce said.
By contrast, there was strong growth in the number of hotels, pensions and conference centres.
Also noteworthy was the growth in the number of ice cream parlours. There are now 600 ice cream specialist shops in the Netherlands, double the total five years ago, the chamber said.