Tourists from both the Netherlands and abroad spent a total of 124 million nights in Dutch hotels, campsites and holiday houses last year, a 7% rise on 2018, according to new figures from national statistics office CBS.

Foreign tourist numbers rose 8% while 3% more Dutch visitors were prompted to spend a night away from home, the CBS said.

Noord-Holland, which includes Amsterdam, attracted the most visitors – some 15 million in total, but fewer tourists found their way to Groningen, Friesland, Flevoland and Overijssel.

The figures only cover registered accommodation, so do not include informal holiday lets like those organised through Airbnb.

Some tourist attractions are already starting to feel the pinch because of the coronavirus outbreak, tour operator organisation ANVR said earlier this week. In particular, the village of Giethoorn, which is extremely popular with Chinese visitors, has been hit by the downturn.

Zaanstad, home to the Zaanse Schans windmill village, and the Roermond outlet centre have also been affected by the abrupt end to Chinese tourism.