The number of overnight stays in Belgian tourist accommodations was 1,846,988 in May 2021. On a national level, most overnight stays were in hotels (38%) and holiday homes (25%).
Compared to May 2019[1], the number of overnight stays is immediately 48% less: the number of overnight stays in hotels decreased by 61%, in holiday parks by 49% and in youth hostels even by 95%.
In the Walloon Region, there were 473.986 overnight stays, which corresponds to a decrease of 34% compared to May 2019. In the Flemish and Brussels-Capital Regions, 1,261,390 and 111,612 overnight stays were recorded respectively, this means a decrease of 43% and 82% respectively compared to May 2019.
Remarks
Holiday parks and camping sites had to close from 3 November to 7 February. Hotels and B&Bs could stay open, but restaurants and bars had to close. Meals had to be taken in the room.
As of 8 February, holiday villages and camping sites were allowed to reopen but their pools, common indoor areas and facilities such as restaurants and bars had to remain closed.
On 8 May 2021, outdoor cafés were allowed to reopen, and from 9 June 2021 horeca inside was also allowed.
Swimming pools were allowed to reopen on 8 May 2021. In practice, this was often not (yet) the case in the holiday parks due to the 1.5 metre rule.
Camps and school trips with overnight stays were still not allowed in May 2021. So there were hardly any overnight stays in the youth hostels in May either. Exceptionally, figures for this category and for bed and breakfasts are only available on a national level for the months of January, February and May and on a regional level for March and April.
[1] When interpreting the evolution between the same months of consecutive years, it is important to take into account the differences in number of holidays, school holidays or weekends between these two months.