BRUSSELS, April 2 (Xinhua) -- About 850,000 foreign tourists are expected to spend the Easter holidays in the Netherlands this year, the Netherlands Bureau for Tourism and Congresses said on Monday.

    This is 50,000 less than the number of foreign tourists during Easter last year. The bureau attributes the high number of tourists last year mainly to the activities surrounding the 400th anniversary of Rembrandt's birth and the fact that Easter fell later in the season.

    About 60 percent of the foreign tourists come from Germany, a quarter from Belgium, and about 15 percent from other countries including Britain and France, the bureau said.

    Most of the tourists stay in the Netherlands for the long Easter weekend, which is regarded as the start of the tourist season.

    Some 600,000 Dutch people will go on holiday during Easter, 400,000 of which will stay in the Netherlands, the bureau said.

    Belgium and Germany continue to be the most popular destinations for Dutch vacationers going abroad. The Dutch motorists' association ANWB has already warned of long traffic jams on Dutch motorways during the Easter weekend.