Flanders continues to be an attractive travel destination for Europeans

Flanders remains attractive as a travel destination, despite poor Belgian coronavirus statistics. This is the conclusion of the Flemish Minister of Tourism based on a study by Visit Flanders into travel intentions in the Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Spain. “We are not the hellhole of the world. We have continued to communicate that message abroad. Successfully, as it turns out.”

The coronavirus crisis has profoundly affected the travel plans of the Dutch, Germans, French, Swiss, Austrians, Italians and Spaniards this summer. No less than 86% of Spaniards have changed their travel plans, while among the Dutch and Swiss this is 76%. The other markets surveyed are between these two. Quite a few Europeans indicated that they will stay at home this summer.

Safer than France, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom

Visit Flanders inquired about the estimated safety of several destinations for a holiday this summer. The result is that our country is not doing so badly, Minister Zuhal Demir notes. “Countries such as Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom and even France are much more often regarded as unsafe to very unsafe than our country.” Especially those who have already decided to travel and also already know where they are going consider our country to be an attractive travel destination, despite our comparatively poor coronavirus results.

Flanders is not the hellhole of the world

The tourism sector has been very concerned since March that the reporting of the Belgian coronavirus figures would mean that the country is considered a high-risk destination. “Fears were great that that would be an additional barrier to foreign tourists coming here. At Visit Flanders, we thought it was important to accurately explain the figures to the outside world. We have had high mortality rates during this coronavirus crisis, and we must not lie about that, but we are certainly not the hellhole of the world. And we have continued to communicate that message abroad. With success, as it turns out,” Zuhal Demir says.

Price plays an important role

The research shows that in addition to the safety aspect, price also plays an important role in the choice of a travel destination. That explains why many people will opt for a holiday in their own country or a destination nearby this summer. Among the Dutch, 42% report domestic travel plans, while this was only 11% before the coronavirus crisis. That figure is as high as 80% among Italians and Spaniards.

“Finally, the study also shows that for those who want to travel this summer, the preference for rural and green destinations has been increasing since the coronavirus crisis and is greater than for coastal and urban destinations,” Zuhal Demir says.

Most foreign tourists come from within Europe

Europeans are the main market of origin for Flanders. In 2019, 6.1 million foreign visitors came from within Europe. As such, they represent the bulk of the total number of foreign arrivals (7.8 million) in Flanders.