Complaints about overcrowding, disruptive visitors and pressure on cities may feel like a distinctly modern problem, associated with places such as Venice in Italy, Barcelona in Spain or Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Yet Belgium experienced remarkably similar tensions a century ago, when a surge in foreign visitors sparked widespread unease among local residents.

In 1926, Belgium was confronted with what contemporary observers described as a tourism boom. According to research by historian Silke Geven of the University of Antwerp, the country saw a sudden influx of visitors, prompting fears that tourists would make cities and coastal areas unsafe.

The roots of this surge lay in Belgium’s fragile post-war economy. After World War I, the country was burdened with debts to the United States to finance reconstruction. Lacking sufficient domestic resources, Belgium entered a period of severe inflation, during which the Belgian franc lost much of its value.

As a result, Belgium became an inexpensive destination for travellers from countries with stronger currencies. Visitors from the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States were particularly prominent, drawn to the Belgian coast, the Ardennes and historic cities such as Brussels and Bruges, Silke Geven tells VRT NWS. 

Lower classes

Importantly, this new wave of tourists was no longer limited to the wealthy elite. For the first time, people from more modest social backgrounds were also able to travel abroad.

This shift in the profile of tourists played a key role in fuelling local resentment. Before the war, foreign visitors were typically affluent and culturally oriented, focusing on art, architecture, museums and monuments. By contrast, the new tourists of the 1920s were just as interested in food, drink and entertainment.

Newspapers of the time were filled with complaints, both from journalists and from readers writing in. Many of the grievances echo modern debates about overtourism. 

Drunken behaviour was a particular source of irritation, especially in a period when parts of society were advocating tighter restrictions on alcohol consumption. Attempts to regulate drinking led to protests from hotel owners, restaurateurs and café operators, who argued that visitors came to Belgium precisely because alcohol was readily available.

The growing presence of cars added to the sense of disorder. Many vehicles belonged to foreign tourists, but Belgium’s cities were not designed to accommodate them. 

Congestion, noise and safety concerns quickly became flashpoints. Similar protests were taking place elsewhere in Europe, notably in Paris in France and parts of Italy, where demonstrations against American and British tourist vehicles sometimes escalated into acts of sabotage against coaches.

Economic disparities further sharpened tensions. Local residents often lacked the means to enjoy goods and services that tourists could afford with ease. One widely reported incident involved a visitor feeding meat pastries from a bakery to her dog, despite the fact that many locals could not afford such food themselves.

There were also fears that wealthier foreigners, particularly Dutch visitors benefiting from a stronger currency, would buy up property that Belgians could no longer afford. The parallels with today’s debates around second homes, short-term rentals and rising housing prices are striking.

Despite these complaints, tourism brought clear financial benefits. During the interwar period, the Belgian government actively promoted tourism for the first time, establishing national tourism organisations and marketing the country abroad. This marked a significant change from the pre-war era, when tourism promotion had been minimal.

Tourist tax

Eventually, the government introduced a tourist tax. While it did little to reduce visitor numbers, it increased the economic returns generated by tourism. Contemporary newspapers often described tourism as a welcome source of additional income for a country still struggling to recover from war.

Although tensions were real and frequently voiced, the interwar years also marked a turning point. For many people, tourism became accessible for the first time. The debates of the 1920s show that concerns about mass tourism, social disruption and unequal benefits are not new, but part of a much longer European history.

Some tourism statistics

• Flanders continues to grow as a tourist destination with over 15 million visitors in 2025.
• Greece sets new tourism records in 2025 with nearly 38 million visitors.
• Thailand happy with Belgian visitor numbers and welcomes Tomorrowland festival.
• Belgian travel stats to the United States continued to decline throughout 2025.
• Is Greece too popular? 2024 tourism statistics raise overtourism concerns.
• TRAIN TRAVEL | European Union records 429 billion passenger-kilometres in 2023 but domestic travel still dominates.
• 5 million passengers flew from and to Brussels Airport in summer 2025.
• BELGIUM | Flemish museums attracted more than 4.8 million visitors in 2023.
• Belgium sees modest tourism growth in 2024, led by Flanders and Brussels.
• Travel in 2024: Spain, France, USA, China, Mexico lose ground and Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, UAE to grow market share.
• France, Spain, USA, China and Italy most visited countries in the world, Belgium 41st.
• France welcomed 100 million international visitors in 2024.
• Turkey welcomed 62 million international tourists who together spent $61 billion in 2024.
• SPAIN | 94 million international visitors and €108.7 billion tourism income in 2024.
• UN WORLD TOURISM BAROMETER | International tourism recovers pre-pandemic levels in 2024.
• Outside the EU, Europeans mostly travel to Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
• Intra-European travel mostly for fun and / or family.
• Europeans visit other European countries over 7 nights on average.