Foreign tourists find their way back to Flanders

For the coming Easter holidays, Tourisme Vlaanderen expects 40 percent foreign overnight stays and 60 percent overnight stays by Belgian visitors, according to Flemish Minister of Tourism Zuhal Demir.

The total number of overnight stays in Flanders during the Easter holidays is expected to be 3 percent lower than during the Easter holidays of 2019. Domestic overnights should do 20 percent better, while foreign ones will still be 16 percent lower than in 2019. ​ But compared to this year's spring break, the domestic/foreign balance is clearly recovering. Back then, there were 40 per cent more domestic overnights than in 2019 and 25 per cent fewer foreign ones.

"We are gradually moving towards a normal ratio of domestic to foreign overnight stays again, and that is something that a lot of our tourism entrepreneurs were waiting for," says Demir. "Certainly for our art cities, which depend to a large extent on foreign guests, this is hopeful news."

© BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK - A horse-drawn carriage pictured on the Markt square in the city center of Bruges, a touristic hot-spot in Flanders, Sunday 05 August 2018.