Belgians made 31.2 million trips involving at least one overnight stay last year, 94% of them for leisure or holidays, according to final figures published on Thursday by Statbel.
France remained their favourite foreign destination.
Of the nearly 30 million holiday trips recorded, 9.4 million were made within Belgium.
The Coast and the Ardennes were the most popular domestic destinations, each attracting 2.9 million trips, while the country’s historic cities accounted for 1.1 million overnight visits.
For travel within Belgium, the car remained by far the most common mode of transport, used for 83% of trips. Rail accounted for 12%, followed by buses at 3%.
For holidays abroad, the car was also the preferred option, used for 19.1 million trips. Air travel followed with 7.8 million journeys.
This reflects Belgians’ preference for neighbouring and other European destinations. France was comfortably the top choice, ahead of the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Germany.
Morocco, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Austria and Greece also featured among the destinations chosen by Belgian travellers, although to a lesser extent.
Alongside leisure travel, 1.9 million trips were made for business. Almost a fifth of these, or 18%, were within Belgium. Most of the rest were to neighbouring countries, particularly France, Germany and the Netherlands.
