Flemish coast celebrates best weekend in years

Businesses at the Flemish coast had their best long weekend in years over the Ascension holiday, which lasted from 5 to 9 May, according to West Flanders’ tourism agency Westtoer. De Panne reported having the busiest spring weekend in the last 10 years, with a peak on Saturday of 50,000 to 75,000 visitors.

The long weekend combined with excellent weather meant the holiday started and ended with long lines of traffic to and from the coast. Day trippers turned up in the thousands, while longer-stay tourists also arrived in numbers.

Hotels report occupancy of 90%, with a rush of last-minute bookings. Westtoer expects the number of visitors to reach half a million, once the figures are all in.

Bathing was only permitted in Blankenberge and De Haan, where lifeguards were on duty. Lifeguards were brought in earlier than usual at the provincial domain De Gavers in Harelbeke. The governor of West Flanders, Carl Decaluwé, repeated a warning to tourists not to swim in the sea where lifeguards are not present. “The North Sea is not a swimming pool,” he said. “It can be deadly dangerous.”

Photo courtesy Westtoer