Spring weather lures people to the sea, but not everywhere a surprise

Instead of the traditional Easter holiday, the Walloons now have a holiday in May. And the reactions to this in Blankenberge are mixed.

“Up to 20% more occupancy”

In Ostend the hotels see their occupancy increase by up to 20% thanks to the new Walloon May holiday and the beautiful weather.

“During the Flemish Easter holidays, the Ostend hotels saw a small drop in Walloon visitors,” says the City of Ostend.

“However, this was largely compensated by an increase in Flemish and international visitors, as a result of which the occupancy rate remained almost stable during the Easter holidays. Thanks to actions such as the popular street art festival The Crystal Ship, the Easter holidays have been a direct hit in the Stad aan Zee for several years now. “

More spread and seasonal broadening

The effect of the divided holidays is therefore certainly favorable for Ostend, let the city know.

“The City by the Sea is always strongly committed to distribution and this spring Tourism Ostend vzw is also launching a large online campaign in Wallonia. TV presenter Sandrine Corman and her family show various activities for families with children in Ostend.”

Mayor Bart Tommelein is very pleased with this trend: “We already invest tourism in French-speaking Belgium anyway, via social media and a newsletter that reaches a large number of Ostend fans. We are now reinforcing this with targeted campaigns in the run-up to the holidays to continue this positive story in the future.”