The Luxembourg City Tourist Office (LCTO) has stated that it is delighted with a positive rebound in 2022 and is looking forward to an even better 2023.
Last year, an increase in tourist activity was confirmed in Luxembourg's capital as tourists visited in large numbers; this gradual recovery has led the LCTO to be optimistic for the 2023 tourist season.
The LCTO has taken advantage of the last few years to develop a new strategy based on “resonance tourism” which aims to guarantee visitors a positive and authentic travel experience by considering them as “temporary residents”. As a result, the LCTO continuously aims to create added value and offer attractive local tourism offers.
Top attractions
Casemates: The reopening of the Casemates de la Pétrusse was the key event of 2022. After work to bring them into compliance and enhance them, the casemates under the "Gëlle Fra" officially reopened on 2 June 2022 in the presence of HRH the Grand Duke. Three days later, they again welcomed the general public who came in large numbers, enjoying the light and sound effects installed. Since their reopening, over 8,500 visitors have taken part in 650+ visits to the underground galleries, which represents an "occupancy rate" of 95%.
Palace: As in previous summers, the LCTO organised exclusive guided tours of the Grand Ducal Palace, which is one of the highlights of the “Summer in the City” programme. Almost 5,200 visitors took part in 280+ guided tours of the Grand Ducal Palace, which corresponds to a record attendance rate of 99%. This shows the great interest of the public to take a look behind the scenes of the only Grand Ducal Palace in the world.
Guided tours: Last year, 3,152 guided tours were organised by the LCTO. Even if this only represents a little less than half of the 7,138 guided tours in 2019, this corresponds to the efforts to offer a qualitative and personalised offer (visits with a personal guide are experiencing a considerable increase compared to regular visits).
Walking Tours: Among the vast catalogue of visits, the "City Promenade", a classic city tour during which visitors discover the main attractions of the capital, remains the most popular formula. Unlike the previous year when the Luxembourgish language was very present, most guided tours are now once again carried out in French, German and English.
Themed tours: Throughout the year, the LCTO also organised thematic guided tours with great success, notably the "Love Promenade" for Valentine's Day, the "Easter Safari", bike rides with "An American in Luxembourg" or the Women's Lives - Legendary Women tour for International Women's Day, to name but a few.
The great return of foreign visitors
A total of 102,960 customers took advice from the tourist information office located at Place Guillaume II. Despite a 22% annual drop in visitors welcomed compared to the pre-pandemic tourist season, the LCTO welcomed almost as many visitors during peak season and long weekends as in 2019. For example, the number of visitors recorded at the tourist welcome office in August 2022 (20,086 visitors) was just 456 visitors different from the 2019 level.
In terms of origin, visitors from Germany were the most numerous with a total of 27,248 people (26%), followed by 17,487 French visitors (17%), 14,808 Dutch visitors (14%), 7,210 Luxembourg residents (7%) and 5,995 Belgian visitors (6%).
LCTO Website
The LCTO recorded a total of 2,759,699 page views by 944,964 visitors to the luxembourg-city.com site, which represents an increase of 58% visitors compared to 2019. Few changes in the origins of visitors: the site web remains a source of inspiration for both locals and visitors from neighbouring countries. The website is an increasingly important vector of information, especially as visitors start to plan their stays further in advance.
Ticket sales: 83% of tickets were sold online (luxembourg-city.com) and 17% were still sold in the tourist information office (Place Guillaume II).
The LCTO's traditional social networks were able to increase their audience: Facebook 23%, Instagram 142%, Twitter 89%. Since May 2022, the LCTO has also been present on TikTok and has more than 1,500 subscribers.
Alongside this digital trend, physical reception nevertheless remains essential. Thus, the LCTO is often the first meeting point for visitors to the city of Luxembourg, informing them about the tourist, cultural and historical offer, allowing them to participate in the activities offered and to buy tickets at the last minute.
