“Completely booked for four days”: extended weekends and sunny weather attract tourists to Limburg (Sint-Truiden)

In May, Limburg presents itself as the ideal close-by destination for those who want to go out on the many days off. The accommodations in our province are rubbing their hands about a good occupancy rate during the extended weekends, especially now that the mercury is climbing above 20 degrees. “In addition to the Ascension weekend, the Pentecost weekend also scores very well with an occupancy rate of almost eighty percent,” says deputy Igor Philtjens, chairman of Visit Limburg.

Germans and Dutch

Not only Flemish people benefit from free days in May. Across the (language) border, May is a holiday month. Dutch students had a week off from April 29 to May 5. Our southern neighbors in Wallonia even add an extra week with a spring holiday from April 29 to May 10. Inquiries by Visit Limburg to the accommodation operators show that for every hundred guests in May so far, there have been 63 Flemish, 22 Dutch, three Walloons and six Germans.

‘Bleasure’

In the Castle of Ordingen in Sint-Truiden, the 32 rooms are all occupied until Sunday. “An occupancy rate of one hundred percent and that four days in a row,” cheers general manager Tine Bollen. “Our bistro and the star restaurant are also doing well. The majority of our guests come from East and West Flanders and from Limburg itself. We also welcome Dutch, Germans, French and Scandinavians. This is partly thanks to the global label Relais & Châteaux, with which we are affiliated. Nowadays they are often tourists, but otherwise we mainly receive business people during the week. Ordingen Castle is there for pleasure and business: injuryas we call it.”

Matteo Simoni in the Netherlands

Visit Limburg not only promotes within Flanders, but also focuses on campaigns in the border regions. The Dutch guests are inspired by the Limburgspot with Matteo Simoni. In April it was shown on the online channels of L1, the regional channel in Dutch Limburg. In addition, in addition to the 12,660 Dutch subscribers of FietsActief, 7,500 subscribers of Wandelmagazine now also received a copy of Gast magazine. Via Visit Limburg’s online channels, such as newsletters, social media and blogs, interested parties received a comprehensive insight into what Belgian Limburg has to offer.

Igor Philtjens: “If we look at the entire month of May, we see that the average occupancy rate has increased by 8 percent since the end of the Easter holidays to 53 percent. We see the largest increase in hotels (+9 percent), B&Bs (+16 percent) and holiday homes (+9 percent).

Cycling and festivals

One of the absolute trump cards for exploring our province is the extensive cycle route network. “To remain a leader in cycling tourism, we continue to invest in this. The most beautiful panorama in Flanders will soon be given an authentic experience. The large pond between the two terrils in Hoge Kempen National Park will form the backdrop for Cycling between Terrils from June.”

Events in May, such as Extrema Outdoor in Houthalen-Helchteren, the Season Rally in Bocholt and the New Race Festival on the circuit in Zolder, also appear to be good reasons to book an overnight stay in Limburg. “The prospects for June and the summer are positive. The occupancy rate remains at a comparable level to last year around the same time, which was already a record year for Limburg tourism,” concludes Igor Philtjens.