Belgian coast sees best Whitsun weekend in five years
The Belgian coast enjoyed a busy Whitsun weekend, thanks to sunshine and high temperatures. Figures released on Monday by the provincial tourism agency Westtoer confirmed it was the best Whitsun weekend in five years.
The coast welcomed 450,000 day trippers over the weekend. That is double the figure recorded during last year's Whitsun weekend and well above the numbers seen during the recent Ascension weekend.
A total of 525,000 overnight stays were recorded across Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, a third more than during last year's equivalent weekend. The busiest night was Saturday to Sunday, with 200,000 overnight stays.
Westtoer's crowd barometer showed yellow (busy) to orange (very busy) readings at various locations, though crowds remained manageable throughout. In Ostend, the summer crowd management plan was activated: traffic was redirected to outlying car parks, and beach police were deployed alongside lifeguards across four zones.
"During long weekends and holiday periods, large numbers of visitors always head to the coast, but the beautiful weather over the past Whitsun weekend made it a truly fantastic weekend," said Jurgen Vanlerberghe, deputy and chairman of Westtoer. "The figures are reminiscent of a peak period in the middle of the summer holidays."
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK
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