Tourists from the United States were the biggest foreign spenders in Belgium this summer, Belga reports, even as the number of Belgians travelling to the United States continues to fall sharply, as reported by TravMagazine.
Americans accounted for nearly a quarter of all foreign purchases recorded on the Worldline payment network between the end of June and the end of August. Their spending in Belgium was 26% higher than during the same period last year, according to data collected by the payment service.
France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and Luxembourg completed the top five nationalities by spending, followed by Germany, and Austria. US visitors were the biggest spenders in both Brussels, and Flanders, while French tourists spent the most in Wallonia.
Americans spend more, Belgians travel less
The strong spending by US visitors stands in contrast to the declining number of Belgians travelling in the opposite direction.
Around 28,600 Belgians travelled to the United States in July, almost 20% fewer than in July 2025, according to preliminary figures from the US National Travel and Tourism Office. There were 35,706 Belgian arrivals in July last year, already down from 39,252 in July 2024.
Compared with July 2024, before Donald Trump (R) returned to the White House, the number of Belgian visitors to the US has fallen by more than 27%. In two years, more than 10,600 Belgian visitors have disappeared from the figures.
The decline continued despite the FIFA World Cup, with Belgium playing three matches on US soil in July, against Senegal, the United States, and Spain.
During the first seven months of 2026, 134,743 Belgians travelled to the US, almost 15% fewer than in the same period of 2025 and around 20% fewer than in 2024. The figures suggest that a recovery in Belgian tourism to the US is becoming increasingly unlikely in the second half of the year.
The trend is also visible in travel bookings. Car rental specialist Sunny Cars recently reported that classic West Coast road trips were dropping out of the top 10 most popular routes this summer. Bookings for the San Francisco to Los Angeles route were 35% lower than a year earlier.
Shopping drives foreign spending
Back in Belgium, foreign visitors continued to spend heavily, with almost half of all foreign purchases going towards shopping. Chocolate shops, souvenir stores, jewellery shops, clothing retailers and bookshops were among the main beneficiaries.
US tourists made the most purchases overall, but Austrian visitors had the highest average transaction at €127. tourists from China followed at €99 and Luxembourgish visitors at €85.
Brussels recorded the largest number of foreign card payments, ahead of Antwerp, Bruges, and Ghent. The coast, however, recorded the highest average spending per transaction, at €61 compared with €47 across Belgium.
Knokke-Heist had the highest average foreign transaction at €70, followed by De Haan (Le Coq, The Cock or The Cockerel) at €67, and Ostend at €65.
The figures point to a striking contrast in transatlantic tourism: while fewer Belgians are crossing the Atlantic Ocean to visit the US, American visitors remain an increasingly important source of tourism spending in Belgium.
Some tourism statistics
- Belgian Coast boasts record visitor numbers for 2026 summer holiday.
- Switzerland breaks tourism records with almost 44 million overnight stays in 2025.
- Belgium tourism reaches new heights as record visitor numbers underline the country’s growing appeal.
- France welcomes 102 million visitors and earns €77.5 billion from tourism in record-breaking 2025.
- BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS | Tortola at the centre of a record tourism boom.
- DOMINICAN REPUBLIC | 11.6 million international visitors in 2025.
- Aruba consolidates its position as a tourism powerhouse.
- United Kingdom tourism races past 45 million visitors as cross-Channel travel with Belgium grows.
- ITALY | More than 185 million visitors as tourism surges 7.1% in record year 2025.
- 8.7 billion rail trips in Europe in 2024 as Switzerland leads and Belgium’s data remain unavailable.
- NORWAY | Tourism breaks record with 40.6 million guest nights in 2025.
- NETHERLANDS | Rising international visitor numbers, domestic travel showed signs of stagnation in 2025.
- Taiwan tourism rebounds, Belgian market recovers, but cost pressures and geopolitical risks shape outlook.
- CURAÇAO | Tourism records for 2025, with 11,500 travellers from Belgium.
- International tourism to the United States continues to slide in 2026.
- Morocco records historic tourism year with 19.8 million visitors in 2025.
- 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.
