Weather draws crowds to coast

3 August 2007

OSTEND – The tourist facilities on the Flemish coast have been flooded with inquiries since Thursday. The enormous demand comes in response to the announcement by the weather services that the weekend is guaranteed to be sunny. The mid range hotels are for the most part fully booked; anyone looking for accommodation now will have to shell out for the high end of the scale.

“We can tell the weather reports are positive because of the number of visitors and phone calls,” says Belinda Ghillebert of the tourist office in Middelkerke. “July was not a great month, so many people still have a few holidays saved up for when it is guaranteed to be sunny. We expect crowds of day-trippers this weekend as well. There has also been a great deal of interest in the hotels on the coast.”

The tourist office in Knokke-Heist is also busier because of the improved weather. “The weekends in July were good, despite the changeable weather, but now it is getting really busy,” says one agent there.

The demand for accommodation has been rising steadily in Ostend since Thursday. “The demand for accommodation in the coming days has risen noticeably,” says Annemie Vanden Broecke, coordinator of In & Uit Ostend.

“Some people headed to the coast today already and will be staying the weekend. It will be more and more difficult to find accommodation as the day goes on. The two and three star hotels are all but full…The restaurants, tea rooms and beach chair rental companies will also be seeing extra turnover this weekend.”

Subject: Belgian news