Chinese tourists to Brussels up 20%

The number of tourists from China who visit Brussels is on the rise, reports Brussel Deze Week based on preliminary figures from 2014 and confirmed by tourism and convention bureau VisitBrussels. The months of July and August are especially popular for Chinese tourists coming to Brussels.

In 2013, 63,138 Chinese people visited the Brussels-Capital Region. In 2014, their number increased to 75,776, with final figures to be announced later this month. In comparison with Flanders, which receives about 36% of Chinese tourists to Belgium, and Wallonia (18%), Brussels is by far the main attraction for the Chinese (46%).

The increase in Brussels is mainly due to an increased interest in leisure tourism (33%), or cultural entertainment. For meetings and other business matters, only a slight increase was recorded (1.5%) percent. The figures amount to an increase of more than 20% in the number of Chinese tourists to Brussels in the last year.

Brussels’ Tourism Observatory adds that 59% of all visits from China are purely tourist-related. The Chinese visitors spend 1.6 nights in Brussels on average, mainly in three- and four-star hotels in July and August (67% of all visits).

These figures put China in 10th place in terms of number of foreigner visitors to Brussels, following closely behind France, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, USA, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan and Switzerland.

The numbers are expected to continue to rise, as the Belgian UK Visitor Service last week launched a new 'one stop' visa application procedure for visitors coming to Brussels from Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The intention is to make it easier for Chinese tourists to enjoy a short stay in Belgium and the United Kingdom.