Brussels: Belgium, known more for its diamond cutting industry and chocolates, is trying to win over more tourists and compete against its European neighbours on equal terms. Currently, intra-European visitors make up a sizable share of the arrival numbers, and Belgium’s strategy is to get more from outside of the euro land.
“Outside of Europe, we work a lot in the Middle East… Russia, East Asia and Latin America are also on the list,” said Thierry Van Eyll, sales manager at VisitBrussels, a tourism development office for the capital region. “I think we are a hidden treasure, and when people take the time to discover, they would realise it is a great destination.”
In Belgium, there is no national integrated tourism body, but regional bodies in the different provinces take on the responsibility.
Among non-European tourists, American visitors top the list, accounting for 329,910 visitors last year, official figures show. The number of Arab tourists reached only 61,530. That could change as Emirates airline recently started direct flights between Dubai and Brussels.
Best kept secret
During 2013, 14.2 million visitors visited Belgium, official figures show. Of the total, 6.3 million also visited Brussels, and the country’s various tourism bodies plan to attract nearly 10 million tourists to the capital by 2020. Tourism in Brussels amounted to 9.3 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2012.
“There is a slogan we used to use in the past, which says Belgium is the best kept secret of Europe,” said Olivier Daloze, director of the press and digital communication department at Wallonia-Brussels tourism. “Today, the slogan might be closer to ‘we are like a jewellery box, really a small one, but when you open it, there is a wonderful diamond in it’.”
Apart from diamonds and chocolates, rugs and crystals are also among the known Belgian commodities.
Belgians also pride themselves as hosting some of the celebrated designers. The vestment of the Pope and many clergymen are designed and made here. The country is also famous of its facilities for the treatment of infertility.
Many Arab citizens travel to Belgium for that purpose alone, one Arab diplomat noted.
On the political level, the small European country carries considerable weight. It is the base for the European Union and Nato headquarters.
“In Belgium every city, every village has something interesting and all within a country of 10,000 square kilometres and everything is so different,” said Eyll.
