Flanders is becoming more popular for overnight stays, according to new Statistics Flanders figures that show the number of international overnight visitors rose by four per cent in 2024.
Marking a one per cent gain over 2023, and a seven per cent increase since 2019, the data represent 28.2 million overnight tourist stays in the Dutch-speaking Flemish region of Belgium.
Fewer Belgians, more foreign visitors
While fewer Belgians booked to stay the night in the region, with a fall of two per cent year-on-year, they nonetheless make up the vast majority of visitors. Belgians made up 55% of the total number of overnight stays in Flanders in 2024.
The country’s neighbours visited en masse too. Nearly a third (31%) of overnight stays were by Dutch, German, French and British tourists. Those coming from further off composed 14% of the total and business travel generated 17% of the visits.
A study revealed earlier in 2025 by Visit Flanders, conducted among 13,000 travellers from 12 European countries and the US, reported that 41% of those asked, now see Flanders as a “very attractive” destination for a short break – a gain of 4% in four years.
Preferred accommodation and regions
When it comes to accommodation in Flanders, visitors most often chose hotels, with hotel bookings accounting for 38% of the total overnight stays (over 10.6 million ). Rentals such as apartments, gîtes, and holiday homes represented 19 %. Holiday parks attracted 14% of overnight stays and 12% of guests decided to stay at youth hostels and other youth accommodation centres.
In terms of the type of destination that brings in most tourists, the previously-mentioned Visit Flanders survey, found 91% of respondents were familiar with Flanders or its cities and the region’s history, art, beer and war heritage, as well as Flemish Masters such as Van Eyck and Bruegel. Despite those findings, the coast proved irresistible, drawing 28% of all overnight stays in Flanders in 2024.
Art cities
Still, the region’s so-called “art cities” (Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, Leuven and Mechelen) welcomed 7.2 million overnight stays, or 26% of the total. Antwerp beat the others to attract a record nearly 2.8 million overnight stays, as well as a 10.6% rise in day visitors last year. Bruges hosted two million in Bruges, and Ghent 1.6 million overnighters.
Beyond that, it is a region of holiday camps and parks (Kempen) that boasts most overnight stays, as well as Machelen, near the airport.
