As temperatures rose over the summer months, travel assistance organisations saw a rise in interventions required by Belgian tourists. Industry insiders point towards the globalisation of tourism and sweltering heatwaves as possible driving forces behind the increase.
As travel assistance organisation Europ Assistance shares its summer 2025 data for Belgium, one can’t help but notice the rising number of interventions. The organisation saw an increase of 23% in medical files and a rise of 25% as far as their number of foreign technical files is concerned. A rise even more important than the one in the summer of last year, which saw a 16% increase compared to 2023.
The data shared by Europ Assistance was collected between 27 June and 27 August 2025. The organisation noticed a peak in demand around 21 July (Belgium’s national holiday) and around the changeover weekends in July and August. Overall, Europ Assistance received a total of 2,750 calls per day and 10,000 requests were sent in through its assistance app over the summer months.
Medical interventions
According to the travel assistance organisation, heatwaves across the globe and wildfires played an important part in the rise of assistance files. Those aged 20 or younger mainly experience stomach and intestinal problems, while those aged 50 or older are more often hit by heart and respiratory problems, as well as neurological issues. The number of infections and dermatological cases was also on the rise.
The majority of cases dealt with by Europ Assistance happened throughout Europe. There, France (19%), Spain (12%), Italy (7%), Greece (4%) and Turkey (4%) took the lead as far as the number of medical files is concerned. Globally speaking, Thailand (5%), the US (4%), Indonesia (4%) and Morocco (3%) were the most popular destinations. According to the organisation, tourists are increasingly visiting global destinations, where they often participate in activities for which they are ill-prepared. Moreover, a lack of medical infrastructure locally can make assistance more difficult.
Technical interventions
Europ Assistance also saw an important rise in the number of road interventions. Here, as a possible explanation, the organisation points towards the fact that many people decided to leave for a last-minute break following a rainy Belgian spring season and an ageing car fleet requiring more assistance than before. No less than 70% of the issues were caused by engine failure, battery, and starting problems. France (37%), the Netherlands (23%), Spain (10%), Germany (7%), Italy (6%), and Luxembourg (6%) were the countries in which most interventions were carried out.
For travel assistance organisation VAB, France was also the frontrunner regarding the number of interventions. However, VAB mainly responded to problems with tyres and wheels. Moreover, the organisation also saw a 34% increase in the number of problems with electric vehicles.
