British media outlets have expressed dismay and even anger at a leading travel company's suggestion that global warming might force an increasing number of Brits to holiday in "boring" Belgium.
The flurry of indignant news articles was triggered by remarks by Sebastian Ebel, the CEO of German travel agency TUI, who recently told The Financial Times (FT) that soaring temperatures will inevitably induce "changes" in the company's business model.
In particular, Ebel noted that TUI will "focus on new destinations like the Nordics, Belgium and Holland" over more traditional summer holiday destinations such as Spain, Italy or Portugal.
Shortly after the interview was published, the UK's Daily Star condemned the idea that more and more Brits might have to swap "the Mediterranean heat for countries with cooler climates like boring Belgium."
The newspaper also criticised the country's "overly-strong beers" and ridiculed the notion of spending the summer "eating mussels with chips and taking a dip in the North Sea".
A 'scary' thought?
British media's displeasure was not confined to the tabloid press. Writing for iNews, columnist Simon Kelner claimed that it is "scary" that Brits might soon be spending summers in "the country which produced Tintin, Magritte and Kevin de Bruyne".
Kelner clarified that he had "nothing against" Belgium and even admitted that he "once had a fabulous weekend in Antwerp and a fun holiday at a campsite in Blankenberg".
However, he confessed that he was unsure whether he could get "fully behind the idea" of spending summer holidays in the country, and pointed to a 2011 survey which found that the Belgian nationality is the "least cool" in the world.
"Sadly, this [prospect of vacations in Belgium] doesn't exactly whip up the daydream of Aperol spritzes, stuffed courgette flowers and the intoxicating aroma of Ambre Solaire," he said, adding: "Here's something that no one has ever said: 'We're so excited. We're going to Belgium for our summer holidays this year.'"
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In spite of British newspapers' animosity, tourism in Belgium reached record highs last year, with 51 million overnight stays clocked across the country: a 3% increase compared to pre-pandemic levels. Most of the stays were concentrated in Brussels and on the Belgian coast.
Contacted by the FT, a spokesperson for the Flemish government tourist agency Visit Flanders noted that Belgium's Dutch-speaking region "appeals to a wide audience every year" due to its "historical art cities, green regions and wide coastal strip".
However, the spokesperson added that it is currently "far too early to draw conclusions about a possible increase in our destination appeal due to climate change".
