Inbound tourism in Belgium: before and during the corona pandemic

That holiday homes are very popular during the pandemic is no longer news. But Belvilla, the specialist in holiday homes, sees Belgians and Dutch people playing leapfrog when it comes to holidays in Belgium. The Ardennes are enormously popular.

In 2020 and 2021, our summers have one thing in common: living and travelling with COVID. This obviously results in changed travel behaviour, but the good news is that people are still going on holiday.

81% of the bookings this summer (2021) are for the Belgian Ardennes, where you will also find most of Belvilla’s holiday cottages. The Ardennes are a popular place in Belgium to spend a holiday. This is of course due to the beautiful nature and the extensive facilities for an active holiday.

In the year before the corona pandemic broke out, 2019, summer bookings for Belgium looked as follows:
– 51.1% of all bookings were made by Dutch people
– 35.1% of all bookings were made by Belgians
– 7,8% of all bookings were made by Germans
– 1.7% of all bookings were made by British people
– 1.6% of all bookings were made by French people

Not so surprisingly: Belgians leapfrogged the Dutch, because in the summer of 2020, most bookings for Belgium were made by… Belgians. So, travelling in your own country! Remarkably few British still came to the continent for a holiday in Belgium.

– 65.3% of all bookings were made by Belgians
– 27.8% of all bookings were made by Dutch people
– 3.9% of all bookings were made by Germans
– 1.5% of all bookings were made by French people
– 0.3% of all bookings were made by the British people

Belvilla offers a wide range of unique holiday homes for summer holidays, a weekend away or a week of winter sports. The selection consists of more than 40,000 homes in 20, mainly European, countries. Unique holiday homes with typical characteristics of the region where they are located, in beautiful locations, whether at the coast, high in the mountains, in the countryside or in the city. The big advantage: you have a lot of privacy and can travel with your bubble. Whether big or small.