Antwerp welcomed a record 2.96 million day-trippers this summer of 2026, while overnight stays also continued to grow. The city recorded 543,418 overnight stays, up 3.8% from summer 2025. Major events including Antwerp Pride, The Tall Ships Races, Tomorrowland and the Bollekesfeest produced clear peaks in visitor numbers, while international interest increased particularly strongly from France, the Netherlands, and Spain.
Record number of day-trippers
Antwerp attracted 2.96 million day-trippers this summer, 6.3% more than during summer 2025 and the highest number ever recorded.
Most day visitors came from Belgium, particularly from the province of Antwerp and cities including Ghent, and Brussels. Both domestic and international day tourism increased, by 5.2% and 5.7% respectively.
France recorded the strongest growth among the main markets, with visitor numbers up 41.7%, putting the country back in the top three source markets. The Netherlands remained Antwerp’s largest international day-trip market, growing by 16.7%.
Germany retained second place despite a 4% decline. German visitors were more likely to visit Antwerp during the spring, suggesting that trips are becoming better spread throughout the year. The United States, up 0.6%, and Spain, up 5.2%, completed the top five.
Saturday remained the most popular day to visit Antwerp, accounting for 19% of all day trips. The busiest individual day was Saturday 8 August, during Antwerp Pride.
Antwerp Alderman for Tourism Koen Kennis (N-VA) said: “Almost 3 million people finding their way to Antwerp this summer is no coincidence. It is the result of a city that knows what it has to offer and is not afraid to promote it. Our visitors are not only coming for a day of shopping; they are increasingly staying overnight as well. That is exactly what we are focusing on. We don’t want to be the biggest; we want to be the city that people consciously choose, whether for Antwerp Pride, The Tall Ships Races or simply a weekend spent wandering around our city centre.”
Overnight stays continue to grow
Antwerp recorded 543,418 overnight stays this summer, an increase of 3.8% compared with summer 2025.
Foreign tourists accounted for 82% of all overnight stays. Dutch visitors remained the largest international group, representing 39.6% of overnight stays, followed by Germans at 13.7% and visitors from the United States at 7.7%. France, at 7.2%, and Spain, at 6.5%, completed the top five.
The number of overnight stays by French tourists increased by 52.8%, while Spanish overnight stays rose by 11.3%.
Antwerp Pride generated a large influx of day-trippers as well as a peak in overnight stays. Overnight numbers were also above average during the Bollekesfeest.
Hotels benefit from major events
Antwerp’s hotels also reported a strong summer. Average occupancy reached 75.3%, 1.1% higher than last summer. On seven days, occupancy exceeded 90%.
The two Tomorrowland weekends had a particularly strong impact on hotel performance in July, when average occupancy reached 92.8%.
August is traditionally a somewhat weaker month for Antwerp’s hotels, but this was offset by peak days linked to Antwerp Pride, the Bollekesfeest and Mother’s Day. The Masters Hockey World Cup, held from 6 to 16 August, also generated additional hotel demand.
The average room rate during the summer was €123.70, rising to €133.04 in July. The Tomorrowland weekends were largely responsible for the increase, with average daily room rates of around €228.28.
Attractions see strong growth
Antwerp’s monumental churches welcomed around 112,000 visitors this summer, an increase of 11.2%. The Cathedral of Our Lady remained the city’s most popular church. The 15th edition of Night of the Churches attracted additional visitors, while the Schatten van Vlieg programme helped the churches reach a younger audience.
Other attractions also enjoyed a strong summer. The Ruien welcomed 4,075 domestic and international visitors, with specially developed themed walks such as Tall Ships To Small Ships attracting considerable interest. City brewery De Koninck received 6,281 visitors.
Overall, the city recorded more than 380,000 visits to Antwerp’s attractions, an increase of 11.2%.
Visitor centres welcome almost 138,000 people
The city’s visitor centres welcomed 137,891 visitors during the summer, with 79% visiting Het Steen and 21% the visitor centre at Antwerp-Central Railway Station.
Het Steen offered tourist information, regional products, the Offline summer bar and the interactive The Antwerp Story experience. Saturday 11 July was one of its busiest days, thanks to the Flemish Community Day and The Tall Ships Races.
Museum Night, which attracted more than 4,700 visitors, the Bollekesfeest with 6,967 visitors and the traditional Antwerp Mother’s Day and Rubensmarkt, which drew 2,706 visitors, also generated high visitor numbers at Het Steen.
Foreign tourists accounted for 61% of visitor-centre visits. Germany, the Netherlands and France were the main source markets. Belgian visitors made up 39% of the total, with more than half coming from Antwerp itself.
The Antwerp City Pass was sold 1,614 times, down 18%. However, 77% of the passes sold were multi-day passes, suggesting that many visitors are choosing to spend at least two days exploring the city.
Other popular products sold at the visitor-centre counters included the ATV walking rally and Antwerp specialities such as Elixir d’Anvers and Antwerpse Handjes biscuits.
River cruises double passenger numbers
Low water levels on the Rhine and Danube diverted a number of river cruises to Antwerp this summer. The city welcomed 370 river cruises, carrying more than 53,585 passengers – twice as many passengers as last year.
A further five ocean cruises called at Antwerp, bringing a total of 3,250 passengers, 18.4% more than in summer 2025.
Busy autumn ahead
Antwerp is now preparing for another busy autumn, with a series of events scheduled for residents and visitors.
The programme includes Open Monuments Day on 13 September, Car-Free Sunday on 20 September, Smaakmeesters on 3 and 4 October, AAAntwerp from 15 to 17 October and the Trek Antwerp Marathon on 18 October.
Later in the autumn, Full Circle takes place on 10 November, followed by Boektopia from 10 to 15 November. Winter in Antwerp will run from 4 December 2026 until 3 January 2027.
Some tourism statistics
- SAN MARINO | 2025 record year for tourism.
- MALAYSIA | 42.2 million visitors in 2025, becoming Southeast Asia’s most visited destination.
- American tourists spend big in Belgium as fewer Belgians travel to the United States.
- 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.
