Belgium
Intro
Travellers from Belgium made 19.2 million outbound visits in 2024, with a total international tourism expenditure of US$27.0 billion.
In 2023, the UK welcomed 867,000 visits from Belgium. During the travellers’ visits, their total expenditure was a record £481.4 million, with an average spend of £555 per visit.
Visitor characteristics
- Almost half of all visits are made by Belgians aged between 35 and 54.
- Almost four-in-five Belgian holiday visitors (excluding British expats) are making a repeat visit to Britain (within ten years).
- Far more visitors come from Brussels than any other part of Belgium.
- 97% of departing visitors from Belgium (excluding British expats) are ‘likely’ or ‘extremely likely’ to recommend a visit to Britain.
Popular activities for this market
Dining in a restaurant.
Sightseeing of famous buildings and monuments.
Going shopping.
For further information on activities and experiences for this market, please click here.
Explore the inbound data in full
Use our visualisations to see data from this market in greater depth and clarity. Compare annual statistics, and filter by age group, gender, trip duration and more. Includes seasonality, trip purpose and regional spread of visitors to UK destinations. This data is based on the International Passenger Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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Perceptions of Britain in the Belgian market
The top three perceptions of Britain amongst Belgian travellers in 2022 (MIDAS: A Global Report):
1. There are vibrant towns and cities to explore
2. I can roam around visiting many types of places
3. There are an interesting mix of cultures from around the world
Global context
Top-level statistics relating to tourism expenditure and popular destinations for this market. For greater detail on inbound tourism flows from this market to the UK, see our data visualisations.
| Measure | 2024 |
| International tourism expenditure (US$bn) | 27 |
| Global rank for international tourism expenditure | 13 |
| Number of outbound visits (m) | 19.2 |
| Most visited destination | France |
Caring for visitors
- Three- or four-star hotels tend to be the favoured form of holiday accommodation, with an eagerness for value for money and a warm personal welcome.
- Belgians like to take time over their meals, and take pride in their cuisine.
- Belgians are comfortable paying for goods and services with a credit card when on holiday.
The leisure and travel trade
- Group operators, especially those providing school and youth travel, are an important sector of the travel trade selling Britain. However the rising costs for travelling to Britain (on the ground costs + passport & ETA requirement) are a serious threat to this sector who is reporting a declining trend in school and group bookings.
- Most Belgians book a holiday to Britain directly on the internet. Belgium traditionally has a strong short break market, especially to places within easy reach such as the south east of England and London. Here again rising costs are mentioned as an obstacle.
- It is wise to be on time for meetings. When planning a direct business meeting it is best to do it during office hours. When planning an event like a trade networking night it is best to host it after office hours. Belgian travel agents and tour operators don’t want to be away from their offices too long in the day time.
Access to Britain from Belgium
The key routes and transport modes that connect this market with the UK.
| Measure | 2024 |
| Weekly aircraft departures | 98 |
| Weekly seat capacity | 16,340 |
| Airports with direct routes in Belgium | 3 |
| Airports with direct routes in Britain | 6 |
| Eurostar trains per day from Brussels | 9 |
| Weekly ferry crossings | 7 |
- More than half (53%) of Belgian visitors arrived in the UK via the Channel Tunnel, 24% via sea, and 23% by plane (IPS 2023).
- The London proportion of seat capacity from Belgium is 51%, with the bulk serving the Brussels to London Heathrow corridor.
- Following the COVID-19 pandemic, scheduled seat capacity on non-stop flights from Belgium to the UK has recovered to 76% of 2019 levels in 2024.
- To see entry requirements for visitors to the UK from Belgium click here.
- To see rates for Air Passenger Duty charged on passengers flying to Belgium from the UK click here.
Further resources
Where visitors from Belgium to the UK reside in their own country.xlsx
Where visitors from Belgium to the UK reside in their own country
How we source this information
We work with a number of data sources to provide a rich and insightful picture of our key inbound source markets. This includes, but is not limited to, data provided by Oxford Economics, the UNWTO, Apex, Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index and from our own surveys and ad-hoc research. The largest share of the data comes from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) by the ONS.
Visit our About the International Passenger Survey page for more information on how the data is collected and analysed.
