New tourism plan for Ostend

Tourism is important for Ostend. Through its efforts for tourism, the Visit Oostende tourist office is an important contributor to the city of Ostend's image and economic position. The ambition is to realise a growth in income and direct employment.

We are however aware that the world of tourism is evolving quickly and the competitors are not resting on their laurels. How can the city of Ostend and Visit Oostende best respond to this? That is the challenge of the new policy plan.

IDEA Consult is working together with Westtoer on Visit Oostende's new 2015-2020 policy plan. An in-depth analysis of supply and demand has resulted in proposals to reorientate positioning, the base product, marketing, reception and the organisation. All of this has been tested systematically with the core team at Visit Oostende, a broadly-composed advice committee and the discussion platform of players in the tourism sector (technical committee), including the alderman for tourism. This process was provided with extra support via a city scan in which external field experts from Belgium and abroad participated.

Together we determined how the growth in income and direct employment could be realised. In order to realise this growth, Visit Oostende's focus was above all to expand the season from November to April with a focus both on recreational tourists and on holiday home owners:

• on the one hand by increasing the attractiveness of Ostend via a good product and strong marketing, and
• on the other by offering all visitors a high-quality, pleasant stay in the city.

The most important switch in this plan is the increased focus on the quality and experience of the base product, Ostend.