TBM Staff - Mumbai With the view to reinforce its presence in the India market, visit.brussels conducted roadshows in Delhi and Mumbai witnessing an attendance of over 150 key partners, luxury agents and media. The roadshow in Mumbai also focused on the student programme for Belgium, which was attended by guests from schools and universities in India.
In 2022, Brussels as a destination had witnessed 35,000 overnight stays from India out of which 56% of the travellers were leisure travellers and 44% were business travellers. 50% of the departures were from Mumbai while about 20% were from New Delhi.
The roadshow in Delhi was organised at the residence of H.E. Mr. Didier Vanderhasselt, the Belgium Ambassador to India. The workshop in Mumbai was graced by H.E. Frank Geerkens, Consul General of Belgium in Mumbai accompanied by Trade Commissioner, Emmanuelle Timmermans (AWEX) and Mr. Fatih Karakoc, the General Manager Turkish Airlines for Western and Southern India. The delegation was led by Pieter Callebaut, International Business Developer, visit.brussels, in both the cities.
The key delegates present were the spokesperson for visit.brussels, Pieter Callebaut, Philippe Steenbergen (Mini-Europe), Peggy Van Lierde (Choco Story Brussels), Tania Ter-Ossepiantz & Maarten Evenepoel (Brussels Airport), Eric Bruyninckx (Atomium), Jean-Marcel Thomas & Xhandros Molho (Euro Space Centre) and Ratna Rai (Amigo Hotel).
While presenting the City of Brussels’ reimagined offerings, Pieter Callebaut, said, “India is a very important market for us because of the potential it holds. Though the tourism from India to Brussels is still in the recovery phase, we are actively implementing strategies to increase the city’s appeal amongst Indian travellers. The roadshows were great opportunities for visit.brussels to reconnect with the travel trade fraternity while at the same time highlighting its commitment to this amazing market.”
Commenting on the roadshows, Ellona Pereira, Head – AVAIREPS India & visit.brussels – India representative – said, “The current movement trends for 2023 is indicating a positive traction and the year looks promising in terms of tourism to Brussels from India. The launch of new attractions like the Belgium Beer World and with new offerings in the pipeline is definitely a clear indication that Brussels has a lot to offer to every traveller from the Indian sub-continent.”
