Tourist establishments on the Belgian Coast have reported a decrease of 10% in the number of overnight stays for July compared to last year. The figures confirm that tourists spent less time on the Belgian Coast than during the previous year.
The initial summer report shows hotel occupancy rates along the Belgian Coast averaged around 70% in July. The tourist office suggests that the beginning of summer vacation in French-speaking Belgium during the second week of July contributed to a decrease in overnight stays in the region.
Specifically, there was a 10% decrease in overnight stays among Flemish tourists, while the reduction was 15% among French-speaking Belgians. The unpredictable weather also presented challenges for the industry. However, the number of nights booked by foreign holidaymakers increased by 10% compared to the previous year.
Germans had the highest number of visitors to the Belgian Cost, followed by the French and the Dutch. The number of nights spent in holiday homes is similar to last year, despite the typical Belgian summer.
Even with the low number of bookings, many last-minute stays were recorded. Mobile phone data showed 2.3-million-day tourists visited the Coast in July, which was 15% to 20% lower than last year. The number of nights booked for August is lower than last year. The tourism sector hopes for beautiful, stable summer weather to increase the number of last-minute stays.