450,000 day-trippers and 525,000 overnight stays mean that in economic terms the Flemish coast has experienced a fantastic weekend. The figures come from the province’s tourism agency Westtoer. The tropical temperatures meant that the region enjoyed its best Whitsun weekend in five years.
In total, the coast recorded 525,000 tourist overnight stays spread over Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights. Saturday night saw the highest number of overnight stays: 200,000. In 2025, the number of overnight stays during the Whitsun weekend was a third lower than this year.
Westtoer’s crowd barometer, which reflects current visitor numbers, indicated yellow (busy) to orange (very busy) in various locations. However, everywhere crowds remained manageable.
In our premier seaside resort Ostend, the summer traffic management plan was activated, with measures put in place to manage traffic in the city centre. Traffic was diverted to outlying car parks, and the beach police were on duty alongside lifeguards in four zones.
Over the weekend, 450,000 day-trippers headed to the coast. That figure is double the number recorded during last year’s Whitsun weekend and is also significantly higher than during the recent Ascension Day weekend. That weekend was rather chilly with the weather changeable.