Travel Down 90% among Luxembourg Residents in Q2 2020

In its latest quarterly travel survey, STATEC noted that travel among Luxembourg residents was down almost 90% in the second quarter of 2020.

This travel survey quantifies the impact of the health crisis on tourism practices, family and friendly visits and business trips. It showed a dramatic drop of almost 90% in business and leisure travel in Q2 2020.

In the second quarter, leisure travel and business trips fell respectively by 85% and 91% over one year. Only 8% of Luxembourg residents took an overnight leisure trip in spring 2020, compared to 43% in the past three years. In contrast, day trips within the country doubled, making Luxembourg, for the first time since the survey began (1997), the most frequented destination among residents between April and June 2020.

Overnight stays spend with relatives and friends were slightly less impacted by the coronavirus crisis, with the number of stays falling by 47% in spring compared to the same period in 2019.

49% of stays took place less than 300km by car away from residents' homes. Due to the travel restrictions put in place during this period, the resident population mainly travelled within Luxembourg and to neighbouring countries, particularly the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Trips to more distant countries were exceptionally few: the typical tourist hotspots of Spain, Italy and Portugal saw the number of visitors from Luxembourg drop by around 90%. Not one trip to a non-European destination was reported in the survey. The number of trips made by aeroplane in spring 2020 was estimated at 6,000 compared to 160,000 last year during the same period. Most of the trips were made by car: 79% compared to 46% in 2019.

The number of business trips also dropped: only 3% of the employed workforce undertook a business trip in the second quarter of 2020, compared to 15-20% in the previous three years. The number of business trips made by the resident population during this period was estimated at 14,000, compared to 154,000 a year earlier. These trips mainly took place in June, by private car and to nearby countries.