Lex Delles, Minister for Tourism;
Credit: SIP
Luxembourg's General Directorate for Tourism has confirmed that whilst the tourism sector has not yet recovered from the coronavirus crisis, domestic tourism is booming.
Today, Tuesday 1 September 2020, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel and Minister for Tourism Lex Delles visited the Baggerweier site in Remerschen. Located in a nature reserve in the municipality of Schengen, this site is managed by the “Erliefnis Baggerweier ASBL”.
On this occasion, the Prime Minister stated: “The tourism sector has been strongly affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Nonetheless, the actors in the field have shown resilience, a real sense of adaptability and a spirit of innovation. [...] Being able to do “Vakanz doheem” has allowed us all to remember and rediscover the beauty, serenity and diversity of our country, its landscape and its nature, of which we can be very proud”.
Tourism Minister Lex Delles then drew up an interim assessment of the 2020 tourist season and the “Lëtzebuerg, dat ass Vakanz!” campaign. He confirmed that companies in the tourism sector have not yet recovered from the COVID-19-related health and economic crisis. For all paid accommodation, overnight stays as well as arrivals have fallen compared to the first six months of 2019. Domestic tourism, on the other hand, is booming.
Regular surveys carried out since the beginning of the crisis by Luxembourg for Tourism (LFT) with accommodation structures have revealed the most recent trends. The classification of Luxembourg as a risk zone around mid-July in several countries has left its mark on attendance figures. According to the surveys, hotels and campsites recorded cancellations by a number of German and Belgian customers. These cancellations were partly offset by the continued presence of Dutch clients and above all by an increase in domestic tourism. 62% of the hotels and 86% of the campsites surveyed said that they had welcomed more Luxembourg residents, with one-third of hotels and 57% of campsites having observed a “substantial increase”.
Such a trend suggests the success of the €50 accommodation voucher scheme for residents and cross-border workers, which will continue until the end of the year. Approximately 34,000 vouchers have already been redeemed in 234 different accommodation structures. On average, 600 vouchers have been used per weekday since mid-July and 1,000 vouchers on Saturdays and Sundays. The dedicated Internet page was consulted 309,000 times.
Lex Delles, Minister for Tourism, explained: “In many European countries, domestic tourism has a great tradition. For the first time in 2020, the “Vakanz doheem” concept is likely to really mark our tourist season. The accommodation vouchers have convinced a large number of residents to consider the Luxembourg destination as a real alternative. Now, service providers in the field are called upon to retain these new customers and transform them into ambassadors of our destination”.
Ramon Hemmer, Director of Erliefnis Baggerweier ASBL, added: “It was an unusual start to the business, but an exciting one. Our team took up the challenge with exceptional enthusiasm and a panoply of excellent ideas and won the bet in a social and community spirit. Collaboration and social inclusion have become our standards and our motto”. The beach by the swimming lake has enjoyed huge success with attendance exceeding 37,000 visitors this summer.
The new site www.100thingstodo.lu, run by Luxembourg for Tourism (LFT) as part of the “Lëtzebuerg, dat ass Vakanz!” campaign, has recorded nearly 469,000 unique visits since the beginning of July. In terms of concrete online searches for hotel stays by potential clients, interest in Luxembourg has continued to increase since the beginning of August.
The Tourism Minister appealed to the tourism sector to maintain and cultivate the responsiveness, versatility and innovative spirit it has shown in recent months.
