Belgians first think about their budget and only then about the destination for their trip

Rising lifespan or not: three-quarters of Belgians do not want to spend more on their holiday abroad than last year, according to Touring’s annual holiday barometer. And no, you don’t win anything if you can guess the most popular holiday destination.

Everything is becoming more expensive, but 78 percent of Belgians do not intend to cancel their holiday abroad as a result. What’s more: 57 percent of the more than 3,000 Belgians surveyed by insurer Touring think they will not spend more on it than last year, and 17 percent even want to save on their holiday budget.

Touring did not ask how they plan to achieve this, but since the cost is 53 percent the decisive factor in choosing a destination – more than sun and warmth (46 percent), sights (44 percent), local nature ( 39 percent) and the proximity to the sea (33 percent) – the hunt for cheaper holiday destinations is probably on.

The most popular holiday destination is and remains France, with 38 percent, followed by Spain, with 26 percent. 29 percent stay in Belgium, or combine a trip abroad with one in their own country. 12 percent of participants do not travel, and for 41 percent of them this is for financial reasons.

In 2023, 81 percent of Belgians went on holiday outside our national borders at least once; 33 percent even went on holiday abroad 3 times or more. Yet tourism is still not at the level of 2019, before the corona pandemic. This is mainly because many Asian countries kept their borders closed for longer than Western countries.