{
    "title": "Belgian coast sees best Whitsun weekend in five years",
    "modified_at": "2026-05-25 09:56:45",
    "published_at": "2026-05-25 09:56:00",
    "url": "https://www.belganewsagency.eu/belgian-coast-sees-best-whitsun-weekend-in-five-years",
    "short_url": "http://prez.ly/WwHd",
    "culture": "en_BE",
    "language": "EN",
    "slug": "belgian-coast-sees-best-whitsun-weekend-in-five-years",
    "body": "<p><strong>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.</strong></p><p>The coast welcomed 450,000 day trippers over the weekend. That is double the figure recorded during last year&#039;s Whitsun weekend and well above the numbers seen during the recent Ascension weekend. </p><p>A total of 525,000 overnight stays were recorded across Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, a third more than during last year&#039;s equivalent weekend. The busiest night was Saturday to Sunday, with 200,000 overnight stays.</p><p>Westtoer&#039;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.</p><p>&quot;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,&quot; said Jurgen Vanlerberghe, deputy and chairman of Westtoer. &quot;The figures are reminiscent of a peak period in the middle of the summer holidays.&quot;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><sup>#FlandersNewsService | &copy; BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK</sup></p><hr /><p><strong>Related news</strong></p><div id=\"bookmark-c7e927fe-a58c-4fbd-ba85-8347c9b33263\"\n     class=\"release-content-bookmark release-content-bookmark--horizontal\">\n\n            <a class=\"release-content-bookmark__thumbnail\"\n           href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/flanders-sees-steady-rise-in-tourism-with-154-million-visitors-in-2025#header-neighbouring-countries-dominate-international-tourism\"\n           rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n           target=\"_blank\"           style=\"background-image: url(https://prezly.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn.uc.assets.prezly.com%2Fdf6ce6c2-7519-4195-a13d-20e7f5518b5d%2F-%2Fpreview%2F600x600%2F?ar=1%3A1&amp;fit=crop&amp;s=36e457d1c7cd650dddf6a18bbbc1564a)\"\n        ></a>\n    \n    <div class=\"release-content-bookmark__details\">\n\n                    <a class=\"release-content-bookmark__title\"\n               href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/flanders-sees-steady-rise-in-tourism-with-154-million-visitors-in-2025#header-neighbouring-countries-dominate-international-tourism\"\n               rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"\n               target=\"_blank\"               data-type=\"bookmark\"\n               data-track=\"Story WebBookmark Click\"\n               data-placement=\"content\"\n               data-id=\"c7e927fe-a58c-4fbd-ba85-8347c9b33263\"\n           >\n                Flanders sees steady rise in tourism with 15.4 million visitors in 2025            </a>\n        \n                    <div class=\"release-content-bookmark__description\">\n                An estimated 15.4 million people visited Flanders last year, marking a 3 per cent increase compared to 2024, according to preliminary figures...            </div>\n        \n        <a href=\"https://www.belganewsagency.eu/\"\n           target=\"_blank\"\n           rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"\n           class=\"release-content-bookmark__provider\"\n        >\n            <img class=\"release-content-bookmark__provider-icon\" src=\"https://avatars.prezly.com/favicon?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.belganewsagency.eu%2Fflanders-sees-steady-rise-in-tourism-with-154-million-visitors-in-2025&newsroom=6b71e247-a9ba-4732-aaa3-88be14c119db\" aria-hidden=\"true\" />\n            belganewsagency.eu        </a>\n    </div>\n</div>\n",
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    "links": [
        {
            "description": "Flanders sees steady rise in tourism with 15.4 million visitors in 2025",
            "url": "https://www.belganewsagency.eu/flanders-sees-steady-rise-in-tourism-with-154-million-visitors-in-2025#header-neighbouring-countries-dominate-international-tourism"
        }
    ],
    "author": {
        "first_name": "Flanders",
        "last_name": "News Service"
    },
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}