The Brussels Tourism Board, the Belgian Walloon Tourism Board, the Belgian Flanders Tourism Board, and the Brussels Airport organized a tourism seminar at the Royal Belgian Embassy.
The event was organized by Roxanne de Vilderling, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to Japan, and each participant introduced the attractions of Belgium. Damien Dome, Consultant for the Walloon Region of the Belgian Tourist Board, who moderated the event, expressed his delight that this was the first time since 2018 that the entire Belgium seminar had been held.
At the seminar, Ms. Tania Tollosepianz, Aviation Marketing Manager, Brussels International Airport, began by introducing the accessibility of the Brussels International Airport. Belgium is divided into three regions, Brussels Metropolitan Area, Wallonia, and Flanders, and the airport is located right in the center of the country, making it easy to access each region. He also mentioned that ANA operates two flights a week between Japan and Belgium on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and said, “I hope that we will be able to operate one flight a day (as we did before Corona).
He also promoted the launch of the Japanese version of the Belgian tourist website hellobelgium.com on June 15. In addition to tourist information on each region, the site introduces model courses for a 3-, 6-, or 9-day trip to Belgium. The site provides detailed information on cuisine, historical buildings, art and fashion, activities, and more.
By opening a Japanese version of its website this year and appealing to the Japanese public, the company hopes to promote the event at the Osaka-Kansai Expo in 2025, where it plans to exhibit.
Mr. Dome then gave a presentation on Brussels and the Walloon region. Belgium has designated 2023 as the “Year of Art Nouveau,” and Brussels offers the Art Nouveau Pass, which is valid for nine months and allows visitors to select several Art Nouveau museums and exhibitions.
In Brussels, the “BEER WORLD” beer museum will open this September in the old Brussels stock exchange, a museum of the famous Belgian cartoon character “Le Chat” the cat will open by the end of the year, and in 2024, an annex to the Pompidou Center in Paris, which is currently undergoing a temporary opening, the In 2024, the Canal Pompidou Center, an annex to the Pompidou Center in Paris, which is currently undergoing a temporary opening, is scheduled to officially open.
In addition, Mr. Dohme explained that the Brussels Tourist Board has recently revamped its PR concept to promote living in Brussels. In addition to the standard tourist attractions, he introduced the European Quarter, where the European Parliament is located, as a place where visitors can feel the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Brussels, and appealed for the use of rental bicycles.
Mr. Dohme said that there are cute general stores and bakeries that make original chocolates in Brussels. “I want people to see not only famous spots such as Grand-Place and World Heritage sites, but also how people live in the Belgian capital. I think it will be a memorable experience for visitors to get off their bicycles and take photos while riding along the dedicated bicycle route,” he said.
As for the Walloon region, the tour will include a small excursion from Brussels to Waterloo, a 30-minute drive from Brussels. In addition to a Napoleon-related museum, visitors can enjoy the typical scenery of the Walloon region with its forests and hills.
In addition, he explained about historical medieval towns such as Mons and Tournai, Liège, famous for its Belgian waffles, the southern riverside towns of Namur and Dinan, and Spa, where the word “spa” comes from and where the world’s oldest casino is located, as well as promoting food such as frites (fried potatoes), mussels, waffles and beer He also promoted food such as frites (fried potatoes), mussels, waffles, and beer.
The seminar concluded with a speech by Lynn Dauwe, Marketing Director of the Belgian Flanders Tourist Board, who explained that the number of Japanese visitors in 2019 ranked fourth among the 15 countries outside Europe, after the United States, China, and Russia, with 89,890 visitors, and that the number of Japanese visitors in 2022 is on a gradual recovery trend. He also emphasized the importance of the Japanese market.
The agency has identified “six themes that are linked to the DNA of Flanders”: historical heritage, nature, gastronomy, cycling, the meaning of vacation, and conferences and events. Mr. Daouwe said, “We can offer the perfect combination of food, art, history, and shopping that Japanese people are interested in,” and He appealed to the audience that it is a destination.
In addition, Mr. Daouweh noted that 2024 marks the 75th anniversary of the death of Belgian painter James Ensor, and events will be held in Ostend and Antwerp, both of which are associated with him. As the latest places to visit, he recommended the Sint Jans Hospital (St. John’s Hospital) Museum in Bruges, which will open in December, and the Winter Garden of Ursula Abbey, an Art Nouveau building in Mechelen that will reopen in the spring of 2024.
As for culinary attractions, he emphasized that Flanders has the highest number of Michelin stars per capita in the world, and that the region is the birthplace of craft beer and chocolate pralines, with over 1,150 varieties of Belgian beer to enjoy. He also introduced the attractions of Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent, Leeuwen, Mechelen, Ostend, and the coastal regions.
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