Positive signs for Brussels tourism, two years after attacks

Tourism in Brussels has bounced back, two years after the terror attacks on the capital, according to new stats published this week by Visit Brussels.

The latest figures, for 2017, show a return to the pre-attacks level seen in 2015. Visit Brussels chief executive Patrick Bontick told RTBF that 2018 looked set to be a year of growth.

"People are coming back," said an Atomium spokeswoman. "We had 628,000 visitors in 2014 and just 430,000 in 2016. Last year we were back up to 552,000 and we hope to do better this year with the activities planned around our 60th anniversary."

According to Visit Brussels, average hotel occupancy rates in 2017 stood at 71% - an improvement on the previous year's 61%.

Rodolphe Van Weyenbergh, spokesman for the Brussels Hotels Association, said: "In terms of customer numbers, we are seeing some growth. But on a money level, it's different - many hotels still have cashflow difficulties. We won't recover from such a deep crisis in just a few months, unfortunately."