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Tourism agencies work to restore Belgium's image

11:36 26/11/2015

Tourism agencies in Belgium are working to assure potential tourists and professionals that the country is still safe to travel to after a week full of international headlines sporting phrases like “failed state” and “lockdown”. They have launched an information campaign aimed at overseas business, such as conference organisers and tour operators.

Those working in the event and tourism sectors have been asked to stress that, while soldiers walk the streets of the capital, life goes on as usual in the other main destinations in the country.

Visit Flanders, together with counterparts from Brussels and Wallonia, have produced a video clip it is hoping will go viral. The film plays off the #BrusselsLockdown hashtag and the hundreds of cat photos posted to Twitter over the weekend after police asked residents to not report police activity on social networks.

The Westhoek around Ypres and Poperinge hopes to continue to enjoy the high numbers of tourists brought to the region by the First World War centenary commemorations. Tourism authority Westtoer has announced that the area attracted one million overnight stays in 2014, an increase of 6% on the previous year. Almost 800,000 said they were specifically there because of the centenary. Half are Belgians and more than 30% are British.

Written by Alan Hope