Buoyed by the success of the first three editions, BI-TC (Brussels International – Tourism & Congress) launched the 4th Brussels Meetings Week this Friday, a whole week devoted to promoting business travel, meetings & events, a mainstay of the economic life of Brussels.
“The internationalisation of Brussels is one of the major challenges for the economic development of the Region. This is now a fact, and the Meetings & events sector is an essential motor for this development. The key objective of Brussels Meetings Week is to unite all the stakeholders and make them aware of the potential and significance this sector has for Brussels” explained Philippe Close, President of BI-TC.
The week, dedicated to the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions Industry, is designed to raise awareness among the general public, job seekers, tourism & business school students and professionals in the hotel and restaurant sector of the importance of the sector in terms of economic benefits for Brussels.
The idea is also to motivate the principal actors in the industry to contribute to a joint project: that of promoting the image of Brussels overseas.
On the menu for this 4th edition of Brussels Meetings Week: a ‘Job Day’ focusing on tourism, hotels & restaurants and the ‘Meetings Industry’, organised this Friday, 13 March to promote meetings between employers and job applicants, as well as a series of events organised for professionals in the sector, in order to inspire them to sell Brussels as a business, exhibition and meeting destination.
These activities take place alongside EMIF (European Meetings Industry Fair) on 18-19 March at Tour & Taxis, where some 400 Belgian and international exhibitors offer a panorama of the latest trends in the sector. Some 7,000 visitors from all over Europe are expected to visit the exhibition.
During Brussels Meetings Week, BI-TC is also offering a special programme directed towards potential clients and aimed at highlighting the innumerable possibilities offered by the Brussels-Capital Region for meetings & events of all types.
The week ends with a Brussels Tourism Awards Ceremony, where initiatives, events and other innovations are rewarded for the positive image of Brussels that they have conveyed beyond our borders. It’s also an opportunity for the Authorities to encourage the sector to innovate and participate in projects which promote Brussels as a tourism and meeting destination.
In this important capital, medical congresses, European summits, exhibitions & fairs of all types, events and new product launches, all grouped together under the ‘Meetings Industry’ banner, represent over 55,000 gatherings each year. They attract some 14 million participants with a buying power estimated at 350 euro per day. In 2007 the influx of visitors generated by this sector resulted in an average of almost 5000 overnight hotel stays per day.
“The opening of SQUARE, the renovated Palais des Congrès, next September is eagerly awaited by the sector. The numerous reservations for the coming three years, even before its opening, are already a positive sign of its new potential. The Mont des Arts quarter, with the opening of the Magritte Museum among other major innovations and renovations, should become a new nerve centre for tourism in the City”, explained Philippe Close.
For more information, visit www.brusselsmeetingsweek.be
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