Belgium Travel Awards 2025

Belgium's Travel Industry Overview

Belgium may be small, but it punches far above its weight in travel quality, offering an extraordinary concentration of medieval heritage, world-class cuisine, chocolate and beer culture, and some of Europe's most charming and well-preserved historic cities. Brussels, the de facto capital of the European Union, hosts a world-class luxury hotel market anchored by the Hotel Amigo, The Hotel Brussels, Sofitel Brussels le Louise, and the Stanhope Hotel, serving the enormous international diplomatic, political, and business community that makes Brussels one of Europe's most important MICE destinations.

Bruges — the fairy-tale medieval Flemish city with its intact network of cobblestone streets, Gothic churches, canal boat rides, and extraordinary chocolate shops — is one of Europe's most visited heritage cities, drawing over 8 million visitors annually to its UNESCO World Heritage centre. Ghent, Belgium's most authentic medieval city, offers a more residential version of Bruges' heritage beauty alongside a vibrant student culture and thriving restaurant scene. Belgium's extraordinary chocolate industry — with master chocolatiers including Godiva, Neuhaus, Pierre Marcolini, and Wittamer creating products widely considered the world's finest — has spawned a significant chocolate tourism sector. Belgian beer culture, recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, encompasses over 1,500 unique beer styles from more than 300 breweries, making Belgium the world's most complex and celebrated beer culture for international beer tourism enthusiasts.