Hotels in Brussels celebrate another rise in room occupancy in 2018

With the majority of rooms full for New Year, Brussels hotels are welcoming 2019 with the good news that they achieved another increase in room occupancy in 2018.

While final figures for the year have yet to be announced, it looks like 2018 experienced one of the highest average day rates ever.

An average rise of 5% meant that 74% of hotel rooms in the capital were full in 2018. The increase continued the positive trend in 2017, which followed a drop in 2015 and 2016 when Brussels suffered terror attacks and a security lockdown.

Brussels was one of the Belgian cities that enjoyed the best increase in the last quarter of the year, Visit Brussels director Patrick Bontinck told Belga news agency.

He said the regionalisation of the tourism industry had enabled the capital “to take its future in its hands”. Behind the “important growth” were “campaigns that were unique to Brussels, which was fundamental from a marketing point of view,” he added.

Rodolphe Van Weyenbergh of the Brussels Hotels Association said: “Already last year, we had seen a return to normal following the attacks. Now, we are seeing growth. Many efforts have been made since 2016 to improve and revive the image of the destination.”

Photo: Fireworks in Laeken by Eric Danhier © Visit Brussels