The great annual estival exodus of Belgians to their favorite holiday destination will start at the end of this week. Traditionally, Spain and France are the top destinations. The summer school reces starts now in Belgium. 

But what is striking is that more and more holidaymakers are consciously choosing a different way of traveling. For example, twice as many Belgians travel to their holiday destination by train this summer compared to last year (+131%). This is evident from figures from the Association of Flemish Travel Agencies or Vlaamse Vereniging Reisbureaus (VVR), which represents more than 600 travel companies in Flanders and Brussels.

“We notice that travelers are increasingly looking for a more sustainable way of traveling and also want a greater travel experience to their destination. The train offers them the convenience of dividing a longer journey into stages and making stops along the way for a cultural excursion or a nice meal”, Koen van den Bosch, managing director of the VVR, says.

Package deals and trains

Organised trips have been selling very well at travel agents in recent months. Travel agencies already booked 7% more turnover this year than in 2023, a year in which travel agencies also recorded record figures. 

Striking trend in the booking figures this year: the train is gaining in popularity. For the summer months of July and August, travel agents have already sold twice as many train journeys compared to the same period last year (+131%). 

“Even if we look at the entire first half of the year, the number of train journeys sold is significantly higher than in the first six months of 2023 (+25%) and 2022 (+44%)”, the VVR says.

In stages

“We have seen for several years that holidaymakers are more concerned with sustainability and also with the travel experience: enjoying the feeling of ‘being on the road’. The journey to the holiday destination seems to be becoming at least as important as the final destination. By train you can travel in stages without any worries and make stops for a quiet cultural excursion or a nice dinner in a city that you have wanted to visit but where you do not want to stay for days. The supply has also followed the increased demand for sustainability and travel experience: there are now more high-speed trains, more connections between cities and also more night trains to various popular destinations in Europe. In addition, more specialized train travel providers have also emerged in Flanders”, Koen van den Bosch says.

Car holidays remain popular during the summer holidays

Although the railway is gaining popularity this summer, the car holiday is far from written off. During the summer months, car holidays remain stable (+1%). 

Although more and more Belgians are switching to an electric or hybrid car, this seems to have little influence on their holiday choice. In popular holiday and transit countries such as France and Germany, there is now sufficient supply of (fast) charging stations along the highways to avoid charging stress.

Cruises

As for air holidays, they are just as popular this year as last year, when a record number of air trips were sold. 

Cruises are clearly more popular than last summer: a fifth more Flemish people opt for a luxury holiday at sea in July and August. Despite the fact that cruises are often seen as environmentally harmful, more and more shipping companies are also focusing on sustainability. They sail with less polluting ships and offer train journeys for travelers to track to the departure point.

Spain’s most popular destination

Sun, sun and sun dominate the top 5 of the most popular holiday destinations this summer. Spain is number one and has recorded an increase of 7% compared to last summer. 

Growers and showers

Four other traditional destinations complete the top 5: Turkey, Greece, France and Italy. 

Portugal is the fastest growing for a summer holiday: +10%. Traveling in your own country is significantly less popular this summer due to the disappointing weather in recent weeks and months (-17%).

“Due to the disappointing weather in our country in recent weeks, more travelers have been looking for sunny destinations where temperatures are pleasant throughout the spring. Among the classic destinations, we see that Spain and Greece are doing very well”, Koen van den Bosch says.

“France also scores better than last year. The Olympic Games probably have something to do with that. Portugal is on the rise because of the good price-quality ratio of the accommodations and the fact that some inland regions are still undiscovered for many Flemish people.” 

“Finally, Austria is also in the top 10 for the first time. We see that the Alpine countries are increasingly becoming an active adventure holiday for families with and without children during the summer.”

Top 10 destinations this summer

This is the top 10 of destinations for the summer of 2024, with their rise and fall in popularity.

• Spain: +7%.
• Turkey: -10%.
• Greece: +9%.
• France: +6%
• Italy: status quo.
• United States: -4.
• Portugal: +10%.
• Belgium: -17%.
• Germany: -3.
• Austria: +6%

The statistics igures based on the Travel Intelligence Report of the Belgian Travel Confederation.

About VVR

The Vlaamse Vereniging Reisbureaus non-profit organisation was founded in 1975. As a recognized trade association, the VVR supports and represents the professional travel sector at various levels versus the public and private sectors. The more than 600 Dutch-speaking members in Flanders and Brussels, with more than 1,000 sales points and more than 4,000 employees, take care of the holidays of more than 4 million travelers every year. 

Together with the Union Professionelle des Agences de Voyages (UPAV) in Wallonia, VVR provides unique representation on a national level. 

For more information: www.vvr.be. 

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