Not surprisingly, the weather sent more people to the coast this year, but made them hesitate to book a stay in Limburg. And Americans have taken to Ghent, spending more there than any other group of foreign tourists
Tourism figures show that Flanders’ coastline was bustling this summer, while fewer people turned to recreation-laden Limburg province. We’ll give you one guess why … the weather.
More than six million daytrippers descended on the coast in July and August, and more than 11 million people stayed overnight. July’s 5.6 million overnight stays is an all-time record.
This summer saw a 10% increase in overnight stays compared to last summer, resulting in the highest figures the coast has seen since the Covid crisis. More than 80% of overnight tourists were Belgians.
There are always peak periods, but this summer it was constantly busy.
Ice cream seller Francis De Buck
Because of the consistently warm weather, tourism was also consistent over the two months rather than concentrated in certain weeks or weekends. Restaurants and other catering services were as satisfied as the hotels.
“Normally the first 10 days of July are a bit calmer, but this year the start of the vacation period was immediately busy,” said Francis De Buck, who owns an ice cream and waffle parlour in Blankenberge. “That was because of the nice weather, of course. There are always peak periods, but this summer it was constantly busy. People were here the minute we opened our doors. I estimate that we earned up to 18% more than usual.”
In Flanders’ other popular summer holiday destination – Limburg – there were in fact fewer overnight stays. The province – typically the warmest in Flanders – saw 1.7 million nights booked, a 3.5% decline on last summer. Daytrippers actually increase in the province, however, particularly to hike and to cycle.
“Nearly one million cyclists in two months’ time confirms that cycling is synonymous with Limburg,” said Laura Olaerts of Visit Limburg. “With the heat that we are facing, it’s increasingly important to promote water recreation and forests.”
Ka-ching!
Finally, the biggest share of money spent in Ghent this summer by foreign tourists came from Americans. Whether this means there were more American tourists than other nationalities or that they simply spent more is unclear, but in any case, some 40% of expenditures recorded in Ghent were linked to American bank accounts. A distant second were Dutch tourists at 19%, followed by British tourists at 11%.
Looking at all of East Flanders, Americans also spent more than anyone else in Oudenaarde and in Aalst, though the Dutch outspent them in Sint-Niklaas. The figures come from Worldline and so do not include transactions that were not linked to Worldline payment terminals.