The export value of the Dutch dance sector has risen 50% a year since 2008 and may hit €200m this year, according to ING economists.

This would make dance as important an export as the Dutch clothing sector, the economists say.

Every year some 170 dance events are held in the Netherlands, which attract a total of 2.7 million visitors. DJs, producers and event organisers generate turnover of some €260m a year.

Four in 10 of Dutch over-16s are dance music fans and one in seven people visited a dance event with an audience of over 3,000 last year, the report shows. They spent an average of €140 per festival, including entrance, food and drink and special clothing.

The dance industry worldwide is valued at €6bn, of which 67% is derived from festivals and clubs.