It was a pleasantly busy Christmas holiday with a total of 1.7 million tourist overnight stays on the coast. An increase of no less than five percent compared to the Christmas holidays last year. According to Westtoer, the days between Christmas and New Year remain the best days for residential tourism on the coast. The end of the year was again the top day for hotels, with an occupancy of 70 percent, just like last year. The share of foreign overnight tourists has even increased by twelve percent. There has also been a slight increase in online hotel bookings compared to last year in reservations by German, French and Dutch guests.
During the Christmas holidays, approximately 550,000 day tourists also traveled to the coast. Westtoer also noted an increase of five percent in that area. With approximately 60,000 day tourists each, Tuesday December 26 and Saturday December 30 were the outliers. According to Westtoer, the many events in the various coastal municipalities were popular with visitors. In Ostend, for example, the exhibition about James Ensor in Mu.ZEE got off to a strong start. The traditional New Year’s dive will also welcome more participants on Saturday afternoon than the 2023 edition.
Provincial company Westtoer is therefore satisfied with the Christmas holidays. “The original and high-quality offering at the end of the year is still highly appreciated by a wide audience,” said chairman and deputy Sabien Lahaye-Battheu. “Together with the authentic coastal assets, events provide an extra dimension. The coast is positioning itself more than ever as a destination for the four seasons. The interest from foreign holidaymakers is also a boost.”