Bumper weekend for Belgian coast

More than half a million people visited the Belgian coast last weekend, according to the West Flanders tourism office Westtoer.

An estimated 530,000 people enjoyed a day trip on Saturday or Sunday - exceeding the forecast by 30,000 visitors.

About one in five visitors were from abroad, with the vast majority either French or Dutch. The hotel occupancy rate for last weekend reached up to 95%.

To cope with the massive volume of tourists, SNCB prepared extra trains leaving from Leuven and Brussels North heading towards Blankenberge.

The coast was also particularly well attended on Belgian National Day, with 140,000 tourists present.