The Luxembourg City Tourist Office (LCTO) has reported an increase of 22% in tourists during Pentecost weekend, in relation to the same period last year, with a total of 10,032 recorded visitors between 22 and 25 May.

Following a decline in activity last year,  this year’s findings have confirmed the positive, upward trend in tourism in recent years.

Since the beginning of the year, the LCTO has experienced a 6% increase so far in relation to 2014. The majority of tourists remain those from close by - Germans and Francophones (French and Belgian).

The registered tourists from this past weekend, were identified in four categories – number of visitors at LCTO reception and information, number of visitors signed up for regular guided tours, those registered for customised guided tours, and number of visitors of the Casemates du Bock.

From Friday to Whit Monday, 3,051 people visited the Casemates du Bock and discovered one of Luxembourg’s top tourist attractions. This represented over 24% more visits than in 2014.

The number of tourists that came to the LCTO reception and information desks on Place Guillaume II, was 31% up from last year, with 3,858 visitors last weekend; while the number of participants registered for at least one of the eighteen “City Promenade” guided tours, three “Circuit Wenzel”, or the seventy-two customised guided tours, also saw an overall increase in relation to last year (33%).

In terms of entertainment, the flagship event of the weekend was the first edition of the ENJOY LUXEMBOURG festival, which kicked off the 2015 open-air festival season. It took over the Place d’Armes and Place Guillaume II, and welcomed people of all ages, reaching its peak attendance figures on Sunday.

Also contributing to the festival’s great success, were four musical and artistic workshops for children, which took place on Saturday. The interactive digital photo project, My Matrix.org, also captured the visitors’ attention, and saw a high level of participation from the greater public, who sent in their best snaps of the capital to be projected in 3D on the big screen.

The Identify exhibition brought together thirty drawings by students of the Maras Muižnieces school. Musically, the Kristine Praulina Trio, invited by the Latvian Presidency of the EU, stood out as a particular highlight.

The multifaceted aspect, with various forms of artistic expression on hand and a family and kid-friendly programme made the difference for the festival.

Photos by LCTO