ALTHOUGH the Belgian Tourist Office officially split into two offices earlier this year – one representing Flanders, the other Ardennes, and both sharing Brussels – they share a common goal for the year ahead.
Their joint aim is to broaden Belgium’s appeal and highlight destinations that currently lack the pulling power of Brussels and Bruges.
While British visitors have booked more than 1m room nights in Brussels over the past year, other areas are suffering from a distinctly low profile.
However, the spotlight unwittingly falls on Brussels once again next year, when it becomes European City of Culture, with an extensive programme of events in the pipeline.
It will also host the Euro 2000 football tournament in June, expected to attract 1.2m football fans, with an estimated 7bn watching the games on television.
Belgian Tourist Office Brussels and Ardennes director of Ireland and the UK Michel Mignon said:”Brussels is the reason to go, but the Ardennes is the reason to stay. This is a region that is unknown to the British market because it has never been sold.
“The north of the country has been promoted for years and now we’re turning attention to the south. It’s not at all well known, so it’s a challenge,” he admitted.
The cities of Tournai, the oldest in Belgium and boasting the oldest cathedral on the continent, and Bouillon, set in the Ardennes Forest, are being pushed as alternative short-break destinations.
A recent series of educationals for tour operators has succeeded in raising the region’s trade profile, and has seen Ardennes appearing in more programmes for 2000. It is also exploiting its appeal to special-interest markets, with more operators featuring battlefield tours around Waterloo as well as the Liege Christmas Market.
The town of Spa can also expect to see its profile increase when it hosts the Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix at its Francorchamps circuit in August.
Meanwhile, Tourism Flanders-Brussels has launched a Partners in Promotion programme to highlight less well established destinations. Its advertising budget for 2000 will be channelled into sales driven and sales-support activities.
Director Patrick de Smaele said:”We will provide support to operators who are willing to take a calculated risk and offer destinations that are not necessarily in today’s top 10 but have the potential to be the top 10s of tomorrow.
“We look for sales opportunities and place two or three partners together, normally us, an operator and a carrier. Then the product is offered to the public, perhaps by producing a small brochure or by using databases.
“Four or five years ago most operators just featured Brussels and Bruges. We want more coverage for Ghent and Antwerp because there’s potential for sales there,” he added.
Ahead of the game, Crystal Premier Cities has been featuring Antwerp alongside Brussels and Bruges for six years.
Product director Alan Betty is a big fan of the city but acknowledges that it doesn’t sell as well as he would like, lamenting its profile as a port with a collection of diamond factories. “Not enough people know how good Antwerp is,” he explained. “It’s got the flavour of Bruges but with a lot more going on. There’s a great buzz about the place.”
Two nights’ bed and breakfast at the three-star Hotel Eden, in the centre of the city, leads in at £175 per person.
Other operators are focusing on giving established destinations a new slant, such as Belgian Travel Service’s Breweries, Beer and Chocolates excursions. Breweries in Bruges and Brussels cost £3 per entry, while Brussels’ Museum of Chocolate and Cocoa costs £4 per person.