‘Tank tourism in Belgium growing, but most Dutch continue to fill up at home’

As a result of the war in the Middle East, fuel prices have risen sharply. In Belgium, prices are about 55 cents per litre lower than in the Netherlands. Motorists in the border region are therefore filling up across the border more often. About 15 per cent of petrol consumption in that region has shifted to Belgium.

More and more Dutch motorists living near Belgium have been filling up across the border since the outbreak of war in the Middle East, according to research by ABN AMRO. The bank surveyed how much petrol households in the border region buy in the Netherlands and Belgium.

ABN AMRO has already seen an increase in petrol tourism since January due to an excise duty increase in the Netherlands. From then on, households started filling up about 5 per cent more petrol in Belgium. Since oil prices rose due to the war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the bank notes a further increase of about 10 percentage points.

The effect of tank tourism is visible in the Netherlands up to about 30 kilometres from the Belgian border. Not only people living close to the border, but also motorists from slightly further away adjust their refuelling behaviour. For petrol stations in the Netherlands further from the border, this means they are more affected by tank tourism than before, the bank says.

Yet it is not the case that everyone in the border region goes to Belgium en masse to refuel. The survey shows that 70 per cent of households do not adjust their refuelling behaviour and continue to fill up as before. These are partly households that were already filling up in Belgium, but mainly people who live more than 10 kilometres from the border and therefore continue to fill up in the Netherlands. The shift to Belgium is therefore mainly caused by a relatively small group. About 10 per cent of households clearly adjust their refuelling behaviour and account for almost half of the total shift.

Excise duty reduction Germany

The bank expects a similar effect in Germany, where over a week ago it was decided to reduce excise duty on diesel and petrol. Fuel tourism is often used as an argument for reducing excise duties in the Netherlands, ABN AMRO notes. However, the cabinet chooses not to intervene at the pump. An excise duty cut for petrol was not part of the support package presented on Monday. The bank says it understands this, as support policy should be temporary and targeted. An excise duty cut would also support households that do not need it.

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