This summer, Belgians made as many trips as in 2019.
Domestic destinations remain on the rise, but more than 800,000 trips were to destinations outside Europe.
In the 3rd quarter of 2022, Belgian people made almost 9 million trips, almost as many as in the summer of 2019.
We travelled almost 6% more in the 3rd quarter of 2022 compared to the average of the 3rd quarters of the years 2016 to 2019. The number of trips to Belgium is even 26% higher than this average.
The number of trips abroad also slightly increases (+1.2%), but ‘only’ accounts for 77% of trips in the 3rd quarter, compared to 80% between 2016 and 2019.
However, Belgians have a renewed taste for long journeys, as they made more than 800,000 trips outside Europe, i.e. 12% more than in 2016-2019.
One domestic trip out of three to the coast
36% of the trips in Belgium took place at the coast [1], 27% in the Ardennes [2] and 12% in the cities of art [3], which nevertheless registered an increase of 61% compared to the 3rd quarters of 2016-2019. The increase is present to varying degrees in the Ardennes (+39%) and at the coast (+5%).
More business trips than before Covid-19
Finally, while still lagging behind at the beginning of 2022, business travel confirms its recovery and shows an increase of 13% compared to the 3rd quarters of 2016-2019.
[1] All coastal municipalities except Bruges
[2] Broad or tourist definition: Ardennes, Condroz, Fagne and Famenne, land of Herve, Gaume and land of Arlon
[3] Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, Bruges, Leuven, Mechelen, Liège, Namur, Charleroi and Mons