Tourism in Brussels seems to be returning
It is getting busier in the streets of Brussels. The sunny days and the holiday period bring in slightly more tourists and the Brussels catering industry is very satisfied with that.
“We notice that we have many more customers, especially now during the Easter holidays,” says Marianne Renders of catering business Frank. “It is also striking that they are mainly non-Belgians, although it is difficult to distinguish between expats and tourists.”
Although it is difficult for Renders to make a comparison with the pre-corona period, because her catering business only opened in March 2020, two weeks before the first lockdown. “In any case, we notice a difference with last summer. It is important to us because we don’t really offer breakfast. That is not really ingrained in Belgian culture. We have to rely mainly on expats and tourists.”
Horeca Brussel also announces that it is better with tourism in Brussels, although it is limited to the center according to it. Jeroen Roppe of Visit.Brussels does not yet have figures available on the number of tourists, but has the feeling that things are going in the right direction.
Spanish tourists
Whoever walked through the streets of Brussels last week will mainly have Spanish tourists. And that’s not natural. “It’s Semana Santa,” says Leire Barrio, a Spanish student who is visiting with her family. That is the Spanish time before Holy Week, the last seven days of Lent just before Easter.
“We also visited Ghent and Bruges,” says Barrio. “It’s our last evening here in Brussels and we really enjoyed it. Brussels is a very beautiful city and we are glad we chose this trip.” To conclude their journey, wait for one of Belgo Tours’ free guided tours on the Grand-Place.
The guides also notice that there are more tourists, according to Rodrigo Rodriquez of Belgo Tours, the difference is not that great. “Compared to a few months ago, there are indeed more tourists, but there are still a lot than before corona. There are also slightly more than last year.”
According to Rodolphe Van Weyenberg of the Brussels Hotel Association, we are far from being back to the pre-corona crisis point. “We do see an increase in leisure tourism. During the weekend hotels do a lot better than during the week. That is encouraging, but the situation has not yet improved in business travel. So it’s only about two in seven days.”
Van Weyenberg that the small increase in time tourism during the weekend is insufficient. “The energy prices and raw material prices are still there and the hotels cannot let the big competition have their rooms equal. Then they will have even fewer visitors. The situation remains difficult in terms of profitability.”