The West Flanders Tourist Board Westtoer expects the coast to be very busy this weekend due to the heat.
According to the coastal affluence barometer, some areas are already turning yellow on Saturday afternoon, but there is no sign of saturation yet.
The summer weather is driving many last-minute reservations at coastal hotels, according to Westtoer. Many second residents and day tourists will also be looking to cool off by the sea during this heatwave. Everyone is advised to avoid the busiest beaches in seaside resorts, especially in the afternoon. It is advisable to go to less frequented beaches outside urban centers. For the three main beaches in Ostend the reservation system was in place at least until Wednesday. The city of Ostend announced Thursday that all the places located at the supervised bathing areas have already been reserved for Saturday. I
Visitors are therefore advised to go to the less frequented beaches, for example on the Oosteroever or in Mariakerke. Raversijde is also a possibility, but only for sunbathing. Saturday afternoon, the coastal affluence barometer is still dark green or light green in several places, ie the codes to define the situation as “calm” and “comfortable”.
As is often the case, Zeebrugge, for example, is still completely dark green. In several seaside resorts, the most frequented areas are now indicated in yellow. Around 11 a.m., it was De Panne, Middelkerke, Le Coq, Blankenberge and Knokke. Nieuport and Wenduine have also been added to the list in the meantime. For the moment, according to the affluence barometer, there is still no place indicated as “very busy”. The system was developed in collaboration with Proximus and uses data from mobile phones. (INT, GEN, 130, MIF, TOB, fr)
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