tourist accommodation 5 - visit brussels | visit brussels · tourist accommodation _____ 5 ......

Observatory for Tourism in Brussels .

Summary of tourism year 2014 in Brussels _____________________________ 3

Tourist accommodation _____________________________________________ 5

Accommodation offer ____________________________________________________ 5

Tourist arrivals and overnights ____________________________________________ 9

Meeting industry __________________________________________________ 36

Supply of meeting rooms ________________________________________________ 36

Number of meetings of international associations - UIA ______________________ 37

Number of meetings of international associations - ICCA _____________________ 38

Trade fairs and shows __________________________________________________ 39

Cultural tourist services ____________________________________________ 40

Cultural offer in museums and tourist attractions ___________________________ 40

Number of visitors in museums and attractions _____________________________ 40

Financial impact of the museums and attractions ___________________________ 41

Guided tours and Greeters ______________________________________________ 42

Special and regular events in Brussels ____________________________________ 43

Transport ________________________________________________________ 46

Airports ______________________________________________________________ 46

Brussels Airport – Zaventem _____________________________________________ 47

Railway ______________________________________________________________ 48

Sustainable tourism _______________________________________________ 49

The Eco-Labels ________________________________________________________ 50

Offer of eco-certified accommodations ____________________________________ 52

The Green City Index ___________________________________________________ 55

Green spaces _________________________________________________________ 55

Persons with reduced mobility ___________________________________________ 57


Summary of tourism year 2014 in Brussels

The progress registered in 2013 continued in 2014, with a 5.4% increase in overnight stays

to over 6.6 million by 3.4 million visitors. Length of stay also increased, to 1.93 nights per

visitor.

If we take into account the figures form other booking platforms, Brussels exceeds for the

first time - and largely - the 7 million overnight stays, a figure that we had announced during

the year.

As in 2013, the reasons for this increase can be found in the confirmation that we are out of

the crisis, the return of consumer and entrepreneur confidence and the improved

attractiveness and infrastructures of Brussels.

Both leisure tourism and business trips have contributed to this growth, with 5.1% and 5.8%

respectively. This means that business visitors remain ahead, with almost 53% of overnight

stays in Brussels. Brussels remains in second place globally in the UIA rankings and also

becomes the leading city in the world for meetings of international associations and

organisations with over 50 participants. This also moves it up the ICCA ranking to 11th place

globally, four places higher than the previous year.

Most visitors still stay in hotels, which have seen a 1.6% increase in occupancy rates to 73%,

while average prices have decreased by 1.6%. However, we can already state that 2015 has

reversed this downward trend in hotel prices.

France, Great Britain, Spain, Italy and the United States are the Top 5 foreign markets, but

still behind the domestic market, which is highest in Brussels (19.6% market share). Spain

returns to the 3rd position that it had ceded to Germany last year, thanks to a 15% increase

in overnight stays. The United States, our 15th largest market, also significantly increased its

overnight stays, by 14.1%.

Among the most important countries, the Netherlands and Russia stand out due to a major

decrease. Visitor numbers from the Netherlands have been dropping constantly since 2011

(throughout Belgium) and those from Russia have been falling ever since the Ukrainian

crisis.

The Top 30 countries showing the highest increases are Greece (28%), Brazil (27.8%) and

Portugal (23.8%), closely followed by Australia (23.5%).

Initial observations on 2014 and the new hotel projects mean allow us to remain optimistic

about achieving our target of 10 million overnight stays by 2020.

Museums and attractions had a stable year, with less than 1% growth in visitor numbers.

With regard to transport, Brussels Airport- Zaventem had an exceptional year, beating its

record passenger numbers from 2000 before the bankruptcy of Sabena, with 21.9 million

passengers (compared with 21.6 in 2000). The arrival of Ryanair has certainly had an

impact, as the destinations with the highest increases in passenger numbers (Barcelona,


Lisbon, etc.) are served by this airline. At the same time, Brussels South-Charleroi has

witnessed a decrease in passenger numbers following years of growth.

The outlook for the future is very healthy and we are pleased with the efforts made by the

entire sector to make Brussels more and more attractive to visitors from around the world

and ensure that it can continue to show strong growth, as demonstrated by greatly improved

figures.

We hope you enjoy reading it.

Happy reading.

Frédéric Cornet

Manager, Brussels Tourism Observatory

The annual report of the Brussels tourism observatory is a publication resulting from the collection and

processing of data provided by, among others, the FPS Economy, MKG Hospitality, TourMIS and

tourism service providers such as Brussels museums and attractions. It is established according to an

efficient methodology recognised by all Brussels tourism stakeholders.

The Tourism Observatory also publishes monthly barometers on the website of vist.brussels

(www.visitbrussels.be - Menu “Observatory”). These barometers show the trends in night stays, hotel

activity and visits to museums and attractions.


Tourist accommodation

Accommodation offer

Offer of tourist accommodations

Type Number of

establishments

Number of rooms Capacity in beds/

bedplaces

Hotels 201 17 828 36 315 bedplaces

Youth hostels 10 242 1 538 beds

Bed & Breakfasts included in the

DGS data 81 178 406 bedplaces

Apartment-Hotels (estimate) 60 2 532 -

Sources: Hotels, Youth Hostels and Bed&Breakfasts included in DGS data: DGS/ Apartment-Hotels: estimate from

the Brussels Observatory for Tourism (2009).


Offer of hotels in 2014 and comparison vs. 2013

Type Number of

establishments

Number of rooms Capacity in bedplaces

Hôtels 201

+ 4

17 828

+151

36 315

-8

Classification :

5*****

12

=

2 176

=

4 382

=

4****

52

=

8 242

+ 27

16 826

+ 83

3***

67

+1

5 430

+47

10 945

-325

2**

41

+ 2

1 155

+ 65

2 336

+ 128

1*

15

=

374

-51

790

-78

Not classified

14

+1

451

+63

1 036

+184

Source: DGS


Number of establishments by municipality and by rooms or bed capacity

Municipality

Hotels Youth Hostels

(bed capacity)

B&B’s in DGS

data Total 5

*****

4

****

3

***

2

**

1

*

Non-clas.

Brussels City 101

8 872

7

1466

30

3 996

30

2 464

22

616

7

192

5

138

4

643

13

34

Saint-Gilles 28

2 293 -

9

1 110

8

782

3

111

3

75

5

215 -

6

14

Ixelles 18

1 568

2

438

5

730

7

332

1

22

2

25

1

21

1

160

7

26

Saint-Josse-ten-Noode

15

2 136 -

3

1 270

7

756

3

56

1

18

1

36

1

240 -

Schaerbeek 10

681 -

1

354

3

94

5

199

1

34 - -

14

21

Etterbeek 6

701

1

149

2

456

1

47

1

27 -

1

22 -

6

13

Anderlecht 6

445

1

60 -

4

353

1

32 - - -

3

5

Evere 4

466 -

2

326

1

120

1

20 - - -

1

2

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert

4

222 - -

2

180

2

42 - - -

5

12

Ganshoren 2

49 - - - -

1

30

1

19 - -

Watermael-Boitsfort

2

17 - -

1

11

1

6 - - -

5

10

Molenbeek-Saint-Jean

1

150 - -

1

150 - - -

2

241

1

1

Uccle 1

101 - -

1

101 - - - -

4

9

Woluwe-Saint-Pierre

1

63

1

63 - - - - - -

2

4

Forest 1

40 - -

1

40 - - - -

1

2

Jette 1

24 - - -

1

24 - - -

2

2

Auderghem - - - - - - - 1

164

7

12

Koekelberg - - - - - - - 1

90

2

5

Berchem-Sainte-Agathe

- - - - - - - - 1

3

Total 201

17 828

12

2 176

52

8 242

67

5 430

41

1 155

15

374

14

451

10

1 538

81

178

Sources: DGS


Hotels planned

Name of the project Comments Municipality Size Date

Hampton Inn by Hilton

(4****)

Rebranding of

Cascade Inn

Saint-Gilles 82 rooms 2014-15

NH Collection Rebranding of NH

Atlanta Brussels

Brussels 241 rooms September

2015

(open)

Ibis Budget New hotel Saint-Gilles (Rue Bara) n.a. 2015-16

Tangla Hotel (4****) Renovation of

Sodehotel (4****)

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert

(UCL St Luc)

187 rooms (126

before)

Q1 2016

Le Quinze Grand Place Rebranding of the

Saint Michel hotel

Brussels 15 rooms January

2016

Nexity - Orion

International

New hotel Etterbeek

(Rue Belliard)

110 rooms 2015

Hotel Astoria (5*****) Renovation Astoria Brussels

(Rue Royale)

142 rooms (109

before)

2016

Gésu (5*****) New hotel Saint-Josse 73 rooms +

meeting rooms

and parking

2017

Neo Global Project on

the Heyzel

Heyzel - Laeken Min. 500 rooms

Conference

Center of 5.000

seats

Source: CBRE / Observatory for Tourism in Brussels / Brussels Booking Desk


Tourist arrivals and overnights

All types of accommodation

Summary of occupation - 2014

Data % of total 2012-2013 variation

Arrivals 3 420 194 +3.9%

Overnights 6 611 933 +5.4%

Average length of stay 1.93 jours +1.1%

Leisure overnights 3 130 426 47.3% +5.1%

Professional overnights 3 481 507 52.7% +5.8%

Overnights in hotels 6 290 243 95,1% +6%

Overnights in youth hostels 292 200 4.4% -5.1%

Overnights in B&Bs* 29 490 0.5% +3.4%

Hotels - occupancy rate 73% +1.6 pts

Hotels - average price 106€ -1.6%

Hotels - RevPAR 77.4€ 0.7%

Overnights from Belgium 1 294 999 19.6% +6.3%

Overnights from foreign countries

5 316 934 80.4% +5.2%

- France 837 028 12.7% +1.7%

- Great Britain 523 808 7.9% +1.4%

- Spain 477 951 7.2% +15%

- Germany 424 875 6.4% +0.7%

- United States 413 981 6.3% +14.1%

Source: Arrivals and overnights: DGS – Overnights in B&B’s: Bed & Brussels (the data from B&Bs

are NOT included in the total as they don’t cover the entire market) - occupancy rates and prices of

hotels: MKG Hospitality

* Note: Overnight stays in guestrooms are recorded by the DGS as of June 2012 and are

henceforth included in the total number of night stays.


Evolution of overnights in the 3 regions

Source: DGS

Index of overnights since 1992 in the 3 regions

Source: DGS


Evolution of overnights, arrivals and length of stay since 1992

Source: DGS

Evolution of leisure and professional overnights since 1992

Source: DGS


Total overnights since 2000 in Brussels

Source: DGS

Overnights by reason since 2000

Source: DGS


Overnights by municipality (2014) – Brussels and surroundings

2013 2014 Variation% of

Foreign

Anderlecht 190 330 179 018 -5.9% 87.8%

Auderghem - Ouderghem 19 396 33 951 75.0% 55.3%

Bruxelles - Brussel 3 348 025 3 428 015 2.4% 83.1%

Etterbeek 210 146 216 472 3.0% 74.7%

Evere 127 843 125 366 -1.9% 87.2%

Ixelles - Elsene 481 649 517 343 7.4% 76.2%

Jette 8 499 5 685 -33.1% 85.1%

Koekelberg 20 830 18 357 -11.9% 90.3%

Molenbeek-Saint-Jean -

Sint-Jans-Molenbeek112 920 154 061 36.4% 84.7%

Saint-Gilles - Sint-Gillis 675 900 796 202 17.8% 75.3%

Saint-Josse-ten-Noode -

Sint-Joost-ten-Node707 637 749 497 5.9% 75.1%

Schaerbeek - Schaarbeek 188 133 203 884 8.4% 85.0%

Uccle - Ukkel 40 080 41 465 3.5% 80.6%

Watermael-Boitsfort -

Watermaal-Bosvoorde7 904 5 256 -33.5% 85.3%

Woluwe-Saint-Lambert -

Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe86 646 87 761 1.3% 70.2%

Woluwe-Saint-Pierre -

Sint-Pieters-Woluwe22 664 23 755 4.8% 77.3%

Others 22 435 25 845 15.2% 82.9%

6 271 037 6 611 933 5.4% 80.4%TOTAL

Brussels

Overnights by Municipality

2013 2014 Variation% of

Foreign

Beauvechain 1 631 2 614 60.3% 76.2%

Lasne 6 665 5 656 -15.1% 4.0%

Nivelles 39 672 50 200 26.5% 37.1%

Ottignies-Louvain-la-Neuve 47 696 38 510 -19.3% 40.1%

Waterloo 81 825 90 454 10.5% 64.7%

Wavre 89 882 93 635 4.2% 71.2%

Others 82 973 152 813 84.2% 37.2%

352 357 433 882 23.1% 56.5%TOTAL

Overnights by Municipality

Waloon

Brabant


Source: DGS


Source : DGS

Note: For confidentiality reasons, some municipalities are not reported as they contain too

few accommodation establishments.


Overnights by country of origin - 2014

Note: the arrows in the second column show the variation in market position from 2013 to 2014.

Source: DGS

Country Arrivals

2014 2014

Var. vs

2013

Market

Share

Length

of Stay

Var. vs

2013

Var. vs

2013

_AllAll countries 3 420 194 6 611 933 5.4% 100.0% 1.93 5.1% 47% 53% 5.8%

BE-BelgiumBelgium 731 471 1 294 999 6.3% 19.6% 1.77 1.7% 42% 58% 10.0%

Pos.

2014 vs. 2013G_NRES-Non ResidentsForeign Countries 2 688 723 5 316 934 5.2% 80.4% 1.98 5.8% 49% 51% 4.7%

1 FR-FranceFrance 477 619 837 028 1.7% 12.7% 1.75 2.7% 55% 45% 0.4%

2 GB-United KingdomUnited Kingdom 275 690 523 808 1.4% 7.9% 1.90 2.7% 47% 53% 0.4%

3 ES-SpainSpain 205 714 477 951 15.0% 7.2% 2.32 14.5% 64% 36% 15.9%

4 DE-GermanyGermany 230 629 424 875 0.7% 6.4% 1.84 -4.0% 44% 56% 4.8%

5 US-United StatesUnited States 187 218 413 981 14.1% 6.3% 2.21 18.7% 42% 58% 11.1%

6 IT-ItalyItaly 155 881 339 517 14.4% 5.1% 2.18 22.5% 52% 48% 6.7%

7 NL-NetherlandsNetherlands 168 285 263 173 -14.6% 4.0% 1.56 -17.6% 49% 51% -11.5%

8 JP-JapanJapan 63 087 134 036 -1.1% 2.0% 2.12 -4.2% 51% 49% 2.5%

9 CH-SwitzerlandSwitzerland 51 470 109 330 11.4% 1.7% 2.12 14.9% 48% 52% 8.4%

10 CN-ChinaChina 75 782 108 687 15.1% 1.6% 1.43 22.2% 60% 40% 6.0%

11 RU-Russian FederationRussian Federation 40 739 92 604 -12.5% 1.4% 2.27 -12.8% 51% 49% -12.2%

12 BR-BrazilBrazil 38 129 83 768 27.6% 1.3% 2.20 26.8% 68% 32% 29.2%

13 PL-PolandPoland 35 206 75 950 9.1% 1.1% 2.16 8.1% 30% 70% 9.6%

14 SE-SwedenSweden 37 995 71 108 4.4% 1.1% 1.87 -3.1% 34% 66% 8.8%

15 CA-CanadaCanada 29 065 69 897 1.8% 1.1% 2.40 2.8% 54% 46% 0.7%

16 PT-PortugalPortugal 29 075 59 759 23.8% 0.9% 2.06 33.9% 45% 55% 16.5%

17 AU-AustraliaAustralia 24 670 53 644 23.5% 0.8% 2.17 22.5% 61% 39% 25.1%

18 DK-DenmarkDenmark 26 922 53 285 -8.0% 0.8% 1.98 -10.1% 36% 64% -6.9%

19 GR-GreeceGreece 23 502 52 590 28.0% 0.8% 2.24 24.5% 39% 61% 30.4%

20 NO-NorwayNorway 24 184 50 886 0.3% 0.8% 2.10 -9.2% 33% 67% 5.7%

21 TR-TurkeyTurkey 28 865 50 484 21.4% 0.8% 1.75 45.4% 48% 52% 5.3%

22 IE-IrelandIreland 25 423 49 028 -5.5% 0.7% 1.93 2.4% 39% 61% -10.0%

23 AT-AustriaAustria 24 373 48 317 15.3% 0.7% 1.98 16.2% 42% 58% 14.7%

24 RO-RomaniaRomania 21 873 47 232 -0.8% 0.7% 2.16 -1.0% 40% 60% -0.6%

25 AE-United Arab EmiratesUnited Arab Emirates 11 502 44 104 18.1% 0.7% 3.83 -3.0% 22% 78% 25.8%

26 FI-FinlandFinland 22 066 41 319 -6.4% 0.6% 1.87 -19.7% 27% 73% -0.4%

27 LU-LuxembourgLuxembourg 26 283 37 961 -0.7% 0.6% 1.44 -2.3% 42% 58% 0.4%

28 IN-IndiaIndia 12 801 34 531 12.2% 0.5% 2.70 3.0% 38% 62% 18.7%

29 HU-HungaryHungary 15 701 29 677 -9.6% 0.4% 1.89 -17.2% 34% 66% -5.1%

30 IL-IsraelIsrael 14 191 29 416 1.9% 0.4% 2.07 7.6% 46% 54% -2.4%

Leisure ProfessionalBednights

Share


Overnights - Comparison and variation, 2013-2014

Source: DGS

Total overnights by month in all types of accommodations

Source: DGS


Overnights by month and reason

Source: DGS

Overnights by type of accommodation - 2014

Source: DGS


Overnights 2014 and variation 2013-2014 - comparison by market

Note: the blue line represents the average variation for all countries

Source: DGS


Variation in overnights by reason and by country

Belgium

Source: DGS

France

Source: DGS


United Kingdom

Source: DGS

Spain

Source: DGS


Germany

Source: DGS

United States

Source : DGS


Netherlands

Source: DGS

Italy

Source : DGS


BRIC Countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China)

Source: DGS

National comparison

Overnights in other Belgian cities

Source: DGS


European comparison

Overnights in other European cities - total overnights

Note: a * indicates that the type of accommodation included in the total is different from that in Brussels.

Source: ECM

Overnights in other European cities - international overnights


Source: ECM


Share of international overnights in the main European cities


Source: ECM


Hotels

Overnights by month in hotels

Source: DGS

Occupancy rates

Source: MKG Hospitality


Average Prices and RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room)


Occupancy rates and prices by area and hotel categories



Occupation rates and prices for weekdays / week-end


The days of the week run from Monday to Thursday; the others constitute the weekend. The

blue lines (week) and green lines (weekend) represent the situation in 2014. The blue dots

and green triangles represent the situation in 2013.


Occupancy rates and average prices as a function of variation in the offer

Source: MKG Hospitality and DGS

This graph shows the annual price averages for hotel rooms in Brussels (orange line on the

graph at the top) and the occupancy rates (blue line on the graph at the bottom) compared to

the capacity development in number of rooms (blue bars on the graph at the bottom).

Overnights by hotel category

Source: DGS


Leisure/professional overnights by hotel category

Source: DGS


Hotel overnights by country

Source: DGS

Country

2014

Var. vs.

2013

Market

Share

All Countries 6 290 243 6.0% 100.0%

Belgium 1 232 417 6.0% 19.6%

Foreign Countries 5 057 826 6.0% 80.4%

1 France 763 806 1.2% 12.1%

2 United Kingdom 508 491 1.7% 8.1%

3 Spain 464 435 16.2% 7.4%

4 United States 399 162 15.6% 6.3%

5 Germany 399 133 2.2% 6.3%

6 Italy 328 903 15.3% 5.2%

7 Netherland 251 150 -14.9% 4.0%

8 Japan 128 956 -0.8% 2.1%

9 Switzerland 104 595 12.9% 1.7%

10 China 102 899 15.8% 1.6%

11 Russia 89 990 -13.2% 1.4%

12 Brazil 74 606 33.6% 1.2%

13 Poland 73 710 10.9% 1.2%

14 Sweden 68 521 4.7% 1.1%

15 Canada 64 174 5.8% 1.0%

16 Portugal 57 921 24.5% 0.9%

17 Norway 50 016 0.8% 0.8%

18 Denmark 49 860 -6.4% 0.8%

19 Ireland 47 497 -5.9% 0.8%

20 Romania 46 341 1.4% 0.7%

Overnights


Youth hostels

Overnights in youth hostels

Source: DGS

Overnights by country in youth hostels

Source: DGS

Country

2014

Var. vs.

2013

Market

Share

All Countries 292 200 -5.1% 100.0%

Belgium 60 411 15.1% 20.7%

Foreign Countries 231 789 -9.2% 79.3%

1 France 66 000 7.2% 22.6%

2 Germany 23 258 -19.1% 8.0%

3 United States 13 358 -17.3% 4.6%

4 United Kingdom 13 224 -6.5% 4.5%

5 Spain 11 784 -18.6% 4.0%

6 Netherland 10 248 -7.8% 3.5%

7 Brazil 8 958 -7.1% 3.1%

8 Italy 8 531 -8.8% 2.9%

9 China 5 230 -1.6% 1.8%

10 Canada 5 193 -29.3% 1.8%

11 Australia 4 797 -29.6% 1.6%

12 Japan 4 642 -6.9% 1.6%

13 Switserland 3 763 -18.7% 1.3%

14 North Korea 3 612 56.3% 1.2%

15 Denmark 3 274 -28.0% 1.1%

Overnights


Bed & Breakfasts

Since June 2012, data on overnight stays in Bed&Breakfast are covered and reported by the

Department of Economic Information and Statistics (known by the French initials “DGS”)

Therefore, comparisons with previous year can’t be done.

2014 Variation

Arrivals 12 917 +4.2%

Overnights 29 490 +3.4%

Average length of stay 2.3 jours -0.02%

Leisure overnights

Professional overnights

16 643

12 847

-2.9%

+12.8%

Belgian overnights

Foreign overnights

7.4%

92.6%

+0.4%

-0.4%

Source : DGS

Overnights by month in Bed & Breakfasts

Source: DGS


Overnights by country in Bed & Breakfasts

Source: DGS


Meeting industry

Supply of meeting rooms

Meeting rooms in venues (Brussels and surroundings)

Type of rooms More than 1000

500 to 1000

250 to 500

100 to 250

Less than 100

Capacity of the largest room

Banquet Theatre

Theatres and concert halls

6 9 4 2 - 1 500 9.500

Conference and exhibition centres

4 4 5 9 7 5.030 9.500

Historical buildings and museums

3 7 21 29 15 1 200 2 500

Modern and contemporary buildings

1 9 10 22 13 1 100 1.100

Cultural/sport centres

1 2 2 21 5 1 000 800

Source: Let’s Meet in Brussels 2015 - VISITBRUSSELS

Meeting rooms in hotels (in Brussels and surroundings)

Hotel category Number of hotels with at least one

meeting room

Capacity of the largest room

Banquet Theatre

5-Star Hotels 11 850 1 050

4-Star Hotels 52 570 800

3-Star Hotels 43 715 650



Number of meetings of international associations - UIA

UIA = Union of International Associations

Source: U.I.A.

The UIA includes in its statistics meetings organised or sponsored by the international

organisations listed in the Directory of International Organisations and the International

Congress Calendar.

The selection criteria for these meetings are:

Minimum of 300 participants

Minimum 40% foreign participants

Minimum 5 different nationalities

Minimum duration: 3 days

2013 2014

1 Singapore 994 1132

2 Brussels 436 442

3 Vienna 318 348

4 Seoul 242 271

5 Tokyo 228 233

6 Barcelona 195 214

7 1 Madrid 165 189

8 -1 Paris 180 187

9 Busan 148 166

10 London 144 147

Ranking

2014vs. 2013 City

# Conferences


Number of meetings of international associations - ICCA

ICCA = International Congress and Convention Association

Source: I.C.C.A.

The data published by the ICCA include data on meetings of international associations which

fulfil the following criteria:

Minimum of 50 participants

Organised on a regular basis in at least three different countries

Minimum of three different nationalities among participants

2013 2014

1 0 Paris 204 214

2 1 Vienna 182 202

3 -1 Madrid 186 200

4 1 Berlin 178 193

5 -1 Barcelona 179 182

6 1 London 166 166

7 -1 Singapore 175 142

8 4 Amsterdam 120 133

9 -1 Istanbul 146 130

10 1 Prague 121 118

11 4 Brussels 111 112

12 -3 Lisbon 125 109

13 3 Copenhagen 109 105

14 4 Beijing 105 104

15 -6 Seoul 125 99

16 7 Hong Kong 89 98

17 0 Budapest 106 97

17 2 Rome 99 97

19 1 Stockholm 93 95

20 8 Taipei 78 92

Ranking

2014vs. 2013 City

# Conferences


Trade fairs and shows

Attendance at shows and trade fairs in Brussels in 2014

Name Place Dates 2014 Public,

Prof. or

mixed

Visitors

European Motor Show Brussels Brussels Expo 16/01 > 26/01 Public 582.830

Batibouw Brussels Expo 22/02 > 02/03 Mixed 300.000

Salon de l'alimentation Brussels Expo 04/10 > 19/10 public 130.000

Brussels Holidays Show Brussels Expo 06/02 > 10/02 Public 100.576

Cocoon Brussels Expo 15/11 > 23/11 Public 75.000

Foire du Livre Tour & Taxis 20/02 > 24/02 Public 70.000

Brafa Tour & Taxis 25/01 > 02/02 Mixed 55.000

Made in Asia Brussels Expo 14/03 > 16/03 Public 50.000

Estetika Brussels Expo 14/03 > 17/03 et

04/10 > 06/10

Prof 35.000

Art Brussels Brussels Expo 25/04 > 27/04 Public 28.829

Megavino Brussels Expo 24/10 > 27/10 Mixed 28.000

Seafood Brussels Expo 06/05 > 08/05 Prof 25.800

Eurantica Brussels Brussels Expo 14/03 > 23/03 Public 25.000

Brussels Furniture Fair Brussels Expo 02/11 > 05/11 Public 19.140

SIEP Tour & Taxis 21/11 > 22/11 Public 16.800

Affordable Art Fair Tour & Taxis 07/02 > 10/02 Public 15.000

Culinaria Tour & Taxis 21/05 > 25/05 Public 8.000

Brussels Design Market Tour & Taxis 13/09 > 14/09 Public 6.482

Mood Brussels Expo 09/09 > 11/09 Public 5.700


Cultural tourist services

Cultural offer in museums and tourist attractions

In 2014, Brussels had 109 museums (opening of the Belgian Chocolate Village), four

attractions and one multicultural centre.

Number of visitors in museums and attractions

Source: VISITBRUSSELS

Based on a panel of 37 museums and attractions, attendance reached 3.38 million visitors in

2014, an increase of 0.94% compared to 2013.

Museums and attractions included in this panel: Aquarium of Brussels, Atomium, Autrique House, Belgian Museum of Freemasonry, BELvue Museum, Bozar, Bruxella 1238, Belgian Comic Strip Centre, Cauchie House, Charlier Museum, Children’s Museum, Cinquantenaire Museum (MRAH), City of Brussels Museum (King’s House), Coudenberg, Experience Brussels, Halle Gate Museum, Horta House, Jacques Brel Editions, Jewish Museum of Belgium, La Fonderie, MIM (Musical Instruments Museum), Mini-Europe, Museum for Old Techniques, Museum of cacao and chocolate, Museum of Costume and Lace, Museum of Letters and Manuscripts, Museum of Natural Sciences, Museums of the Far East, National Bank Museum, Oceade, Parlamentarium, Planetarium, René Magritte Museum, Schaerbeek Beer Museum, Toy Museum and van Buuren Museum.


Financial impact of the museums and attractions

According to the data from the barometer of the museums and attractions, and some

calculation made by the Observatory of Tourism in Brussels, here is an overview of the

financial revenues of each area in 2014 (sorted by percentage of the global estimated

revenue) compared with the number of visitors.

Area North (including the Atomium, Mini-Europe and Océade) is on top of the table with

57.9%. This performance finds an explanation in the price difference between the attractions

situated in Heysel area and the museums from the other parts of Brussels. Furthermore, the

mission of these attractions and the one of the museums is not the same: museums have an

educational and scientific role (research and preservation). In the aim of making culture

accessible to the masses, prices are usually lower and the share of free entrances is higher.

Europe - Cinquantenaire area, with the Parlamentarium and the Natural Sciences Museum

perfectly shows the difference: with 26.6% of the total attendance, the area represents 11.9%

of the global financial revenue.

The Mont des Arts is second, with 16.9% of the revenue (third most visited area 16.3%). With

12 museums, the Centre comes fourth (10.7% of the revenue, 15% of the number of

visitors). Southern and Western areas represent 2% and 0.7%, respectively.

Area Museums Attendance % Attendance % Financial revenue

Nord 8 1 300 369 38.5% 57.9%

Mont des Arts 6 550 024 16.3% 16.9%

Europe - Cinquantenaire 6 900 846 26.6% 11.9%

Centre 12 505 749 15.0% 10.7%

South 2 89 156 2.6% 2.0%

West 3 34 616 1.0% 0.7%


Guided tours and Greeters

In 2011-2012, Charlotte Raymond, a student at IGEAT, conducted an in-depth study on the

guided tour sector in Brussels from a supply and demand perspective.

Here are the main conclusions:

- Seventy-two organisations offer guided tours in Brussels.

- Approximately 14,000 tours were conducted in 2011.

- These tours accommodated more than 290,000 people.

- Belgians were the most heavily represented (around 70%), followed by the French,

English, German and Dutch.

The Greeters are volunteer inhabitants who love Brussels and take the time to share with

visitors their favourite places, good plans and vision of Brussels. The Greeters help visitors

discover different facets of Brussels, ranging from the exploration of a neighbourhood to

trying a local beer, to green strolls or little known sites. The emphasis is on authenticity and

cultural exchange.

At the end of 2014, the Greeters’ network boasted some one hundred members capable of

welcoming visitors in 11 languages.

They welcomed 1,950 people on 824 occasions, up by 19% from 2013. The most important

markets were France (32%), Belgium (19%), Spain (12%), the United States (11%), Italy

(6%) and Germany (6%).


Special and regular events in Brussels

Special events

Name Place Dates Visitors

Titanic Expo Brussels Expo 31/05 > 30/11 180.000

Brussels Ice Magic Place des Palais 20/12/2013 >

09/02/2014

160.000

Borremans : As sweet as it

gets

Bozar 22/02 > 03/08 144.000

To the Point ING Cultural

Center

19/02 > 18/05 33.000

Rétrospective Constantin

Meunier (1831 - 1905)

Musée des

Beaux-Arts

20/09 > 31/12 16.762

The Power of Object(s) ING Cultural

Center

04/09/2014 >

11/01/2015

15.000


Regular paid events

Name Place Dates Days Visitors

Brussels Summer Festival Various 08/08 > 17/08 10 125.000

Couleur Café Tour & taxis 27/06 > 29/06 3 72.000

Brussels International

Fantastic Film Festival

(BIFFF)

Bozar 08/04 > 20/04 12 57.242

Museum Night Fever Various 22/02 1 15.500

visitors,

54.000

visits

Mémorial Van Damme Roi Baudouin

Stadium

5/09 1 47.500

Anima Flagey 28/02 > 09/03 10 35.000

Kunstenfestivaldesarts Various 02/05 > 24/05 23 25.323

Nocturnes des Musées Various 18/09 > 18/12 14 20.000

Brosella Théâtre de

Verdure

12/07 >13/07 2 15.000


Regular free events

Name Place Dates Days Visitors

Winter Wonders Various 28/11/2014 >

04/01/2015

37 1500000

Foire du Midi Boulevard du

Midi

19/07 > 24/08 37 1500000

Bruxelles les Bains Quai des

Péniches

04/07 > 10/08 37 350000

Brussels Jazz Marathon Various 23/05 > 25/05 3 350000

Flower Carpet Grand Place 14/08 > 17/08 4 110000

Fête de la BD Various 5/09 > 7/09 3 100000

Belgian Pride Various 17/05 1 100000

Fête de l'Iris Various 10/05 > 11/05 2 50000

Bruksellive Parc

D'Osseghem

26/07 1 20000

Holi Festival of Colours Tour et Taxis 23/08 1 15000


Transport

Airports

Number of passengers in the airports

Source: Brussels Airport / Brussels South Charleroi Airport


Brussels Airport – Zaventem

Destination routes from and to Zaventem

Continent All year In season New in 2014

Discontinued in 2014

Europe 83 53 13 6

Africa 39 4 0 3

Middle East 6 0 1 0

Latin America 5 0 0 0

North America 9 2 3 1

Asia-Pacific 4 0 0 0

TOTAL 146 59 17 8

Source: Brussels Airport

Passengers by month



Top 10 destinations from and to Brussels (by number of passengers)

Europe Outside Europe

2013 2014 Var. 2013 2014 Var.

Barcelona 509.505 813.574 59.7% New York* 574.106 593.015 3.3%

Madrid 661.101 738.203 11.7% Tel Aviv 187.433 236.928 26.4%

Rome* 466.692 722.299 54.8% Washington 201.144 226.162 12.4%

London* 569.541 673.448 18.2% Abu Dhabi 170.743 171.648 0.5%

Lisbon 398.930 664.092 66.5% Montreal 145.729 166.295 14.1%

Geneva 536.833 557.364 3.8% Mumbai 157.029 162.384 3.4%

Milan* 491.385 511.313 4.1% Casablanca 170.076 158.149 -7%

Istanbul* 516.225 498.424 -3.4% Toronto 144.394 155.041 7.4%

Antalya 492.316 492.366 0.0% Doha 131.159 138.939 5.9%

Frankfurt 459.555 472.400 2.8% Delhi 136.071 138.309 1.6%

*for all the city’s airports


Railway

For confidentiality reasons, the SNCB/NMBS does not wish to provide information about its HST to

Brussels (Thalys/Eurostar).


Sustainable tourism

The winning assets of Brussels on the sustainability front

• Density of high speed train and air links for international transport

• Recognition of establishments distinguished by the quality of their environmental

management (eco labels, environmental certification).

• Attention paid to participatory tourism.

• A city accessible to persons with reduced mobility: Brussels for All.

• A green Region: more than 8000 hectares of Green space.

• The constant and progressive greening of the Region initiated in the mid 1990s, with

the development of “green continuities” that integrate green areas and biological

corridors in the public space.

• Incentive policies for the greening of walls and roofs.

• Remarkable strolling spaces such as the 63-kilometre long “Green Promenade,”

Soignes Forest which covers some 5000 hectares, a constantly expanding network of

cycling paths, a network of Long Hiking trails, a plethora of parks, etc.

• Pioneering participation in the « Réseau Vert EuRopéen » (REVER) [European

Green Network], the “Réseau Véloroute [Cycling Network] and the Voie Verte [Green

Way].

• A rich biodiversity to preserve: nearly 800 species of plants and 45 mammals,

including 17 bats, 92 nesting birds, etc.

• A population of bees that is doing well and is making honey of excellent quality.


The Eco-Labels

Four types of eco labels are distinguished in the Observatory’s report:

The Green Key International Label

The “green Key” is an international eco-label chosen today by over 2100 tourism

infrastructures in 41 countries worldwide.

It is awarded annually to tourism facilities, hotels, bed and breakfasts, youth hotels,

camp sites, conference centres and attractions, based on evaluation criteria rating

overall environmental management, waste management, water, energy and green

open spaces, food, environmental education, mobility…

More information: www.greenkey-brussels.be

Eco-Dynamic Companies

Brussels-Capital Region runs a successful “ Eco-Dynamic Company” label that rewards

companies environmental dynamism and progress, particularly in key areas such as

waste management, the rational use of energy and raw materials and the management

of worker mobility.

Since few companies can excel in all environmental areas simultaneously (energy, air,

water, waste, mobility, soil, noise, green and un-built areas), the label has three

categories represented by stars corresponding to eco-management progress: 3 star

label, 2 star label, 1 star label.

More information : www.bruxellesenvironnement.be

Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)

The EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) is a management tool for

companies and other organizations to evaluate, report and improve their environmental

performance. The scheme has been available for participation by companies since

1995 and was originally restricted to companies in industrial sectors. Since 2001 EMAS

has been open to all economic sectors including public and private services.

More information : http://ec.europa.eu/environment/emas/index_en.htm

http://www.greenkey-brussels.be/

http://www.bruxellesenvironnement.be/

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/emas/index_en.htm


The Green Globe International Label

Green Globe is the global travel and tourism industries’ certification program for sustainable tourism. Green Globe members save energy and water resources, reduce operational costs, positively contribute to local communities and their environment and meet the high expectations of green leisure and business travellers.

The Green Globe Standard is a structured assessment of the sustainability performance of travel and tourism businesses and their supply chain partners. Businesses can monitor improvements and document achievements leading to certification of their enterprises’ sustainable operation and management.

The Green Globe Standards is a collection of 337 compliance indicators applied to 41 individual sustainability criteria. The applicable indicators vary by type of certification, geographical area as well as local factors.

More information: www.greenglobe.com

http://www.greenglobe.com/


Offer of eco-certified accommodations

Lodging

Green Key

Aloft Brussels Schuman

Dolce La Hulpe Brussels

Four Points by Sheraton Brussels

Martin’s Brussels EU

Hilton Brussels City

Hilton Brussels Grand Place

Silken Berlaymont Brussels

NH Hotel Stéphanie

Park Inn by Radisson Brussels Midi

Plaza Brussels (Le)

Radisson Blu EU

Radisson Blu Royal Hotel

Scandic Grand Place Brussels

Stanhope Brussels

Thon Hotel EU

Auberge des 3 Fontaines

Auberge Jacques Brel

Bruxelles Génération Europe

Sleepwell – Espace du Marais

Foyer Européen



Ecodynamic Enterprise Label

3-Star Label Martin’s Central Park

Silken Berlaymont Brussels

2-Star Label Four Points by Sheraton Brussels

Hilton Brussels Grand Place

Le Plaza Brussels

Radisson Blu EU

Radisson Blu Royal

Sheraton Brussels

Stanhope Brussels

Thon Hotel EU

Sleepwell – Espace du Marais (Auberge de jeunesse)

1-Star Label La Légende

The Dominican

Rocco Forte Amigo


Other labels

EMAS Martin’s Château du Lac

Mart’in’s Brussels EU

Martin’s Grand Hotel

Martin’s Lido

Green Globe Crowne Plaza Brussels - Le Palace

Source : Let’s Meet in Brussels 2015- VISITBRUSSELS


Meeting venues

Green Key

Autoworld

Diamant Brussels - Conference & Business Centre

Event Lounge

Hôtel de la Poste

Les Sheds (Tour & Taxis)

Source : Let’s Meet in Brussels 2015 - VISITBRUSSELS

Ecodynamic Enterprise Label

Label 3 étoiles Banque Nationale de Belgique

Ancienne Belgique

Label 2 étoiles BOZAR

La Monnaie – Opera House

Musée des Sciences Naturelles

Musée du Tram

Label 1 étoile Les Sheds (Tour & Taxis)



The Green City Index

The Green City Index is an index that assesses the environmental policies of 30 European

cities from public statistics covering 30 indicators relating to eight major themes:

environmental governance, water management, land and waste management, energy

consumption, quality of buildings, transport, CO2 emissions and air quality. The figures are

interpreted from the specific context of each city and combined into a single index.

Sponsored by Siemens, the study is conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit of The

Economist.

Out of 30 European capitals, Brussels ranks 9th, ahead of Paris and London, in the

European Green City Index* or ranking of sustainable cities.

In particular, Brussels comes joint top with Copenhagen when it comes to public

environmental policy.

More information: http://www.siemens.com/entry/cc/en/greencityindex.htm

Green spaces

The Brussels-Capital Region has more than 8,500 ha of green spaces, or more than half its

total area (16,138 ha) distributed as follows:

Source: IBSA

Private Gardens

32

Woods and Forests

20

Parks and Green Spaces

12

Private domains

10

Wasteland 7

Agricultural Lands

7

Others 12

http://www.siemens.com/entry/cc/en/greencityindex.htm


Reserves

With a view to protecting biodiversity in Brussels, 14 nature reserves (130 ha) and 2 forest

reserves (112 ha) have been designated within the Brussels-Capital Region.

Within the Brussels Region are three major types of nature reserves:

Nature reserves

The Moeraske

Ganshoren marshes

Jette marshes

Poelbos

Laerbeek wood

Zavelenberg

The reed beds of Parc des Sources

Kinsendael-Kriekenput

Rouge-Cloître nature reserve

Vallon des Enfants Noyés

Vallon du Vuylbeek

Vallon des Trois-Fontaines

Pinnebeek pond

Vogelzangbeek

Archaeological reserves

The archaeological reserve of the Tumuli

The archaeological reserve of ‘Boitsfort-Etang’

Forest reserves

The forest reserve of Rouge-Cloître

The forest reserve of Gripensdelle


Persons with reduced mobility

Transport - Metro 34 metro stations are equipped with lifts

Tactile paving slabs along the quays and floor marking systems along with signboards in Braille in all the metro stations.

There are visual and spoken announcements in all the metro trains.

Transport - Bus All bus lines operate with low-floor buses.

Bus lines 12, 21, 48, 71 and 84 are now considered as part of the Accessibus network.

Transport - Tram The new T3000 and T4000 type tramways are all equipped

with a fitted-out area inside.

Voice synthesis is also operational on these vehicles.

Transport - Taxis One hundred Brussels PRM taxis are equipped to carry

wheelchairs.

Transport - Trains For travel in Belgium, SNCB Mobility provides persons with

reduced mobility a free assistance service especially

designed to simplify train travel from the departure station

to the arrival station. This service is available from the first

to the last train, 7 days a week, in 131 stations in Belgium.

114 stations are accessible to persons with reduced

mobility, with or without a wheelchair.

17 stations collaborate with taxi companies for transport of

persons in a wheelchair from a station without assistance

to a station offering assistance.

Museums 35 museums are accessible to persons with reduced

mobility.

Theatres and venues 20 venues provide facilities for persons with reduced

mobility.

Hotel Industry 75 hotels and youth hostels are accessible to persons with

reduced mobility.

Source: Brussels for All – AMT Concept

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