The ANWB Emergency Center reports a sharp increase in requests for medical assistance from Dutch tourists. Breakdowns also increased in cooler European holiday destinations. Midway through the summer season, the ANWB has already registered over 330,000 reports from holidaymakers both domestically and abroad. That is 10,000 more than in the same period last year.

The ANWB Emergency Center received significantly more requests for medical assistance, particularly from popular holiday countries like Italy (+23%), Spain (+17%), and France (+18%). There were also more requests for help from Eastern Europe, Morocco, and Turkey. These mainly concern stomach problems, bruises, infections, and ear infections.

According to the ANWB, there are also a remarkably high number of cycling accidents in popular European holiday countries. “Every week, dozens of Dutch cyclists end up in the hospital, often with serious head injuries or broken bones.”

Many accidents occur because cyclists have to swerve to avoid other traffic, the ANWB said. Road users in many holiday countries are less accustomed to cyclists than in the Netherlands, which leads to dangerous situations arising more quickly.

From France, the most popular holiday destination among Dutch tourists traveling by car, the ANWB Emergency Center has received 3 percent more breakdown reports so far this year. “However, there is once again a clear shift in the number of breakdowns towards cooler holiday destinations. For instance, the number of breakdown reports increased in Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark. In Italy, the number of reports remained stable, while Spain even shows a decrease of 9 percent.”

In recent weeks, the ANWB Emergency Center received about 60 reports from people evacuated due to wildfires in Europe, particularly from the Bordeaux area. These do not involve injury or damage, but were mainly questions regarding what to do and compensation.

The ANWB has 30 roadside assistance vehicles active in France, Italy, and Spain. To date, they have helped 700 cars belonging to Dutch holidaymakers get back on the road. From The Hague, the Emergency Centre has provided technical assistance to motorists by telephone more than 2,800 times.