“Brussels closer to the Olympics than Paris suburbs”

It's less than six months before the Olympic flame is ignited on the banks of the River Seine and sports enthusiasts from across the globe will be heading for the French capital.  Today a new set of tickets become available online.

Yves Fonck of the Brussels Hotels Association insists this sporting extravaganza will not go unnoticed in the Belgian and Flemish capital: “Currently it is too early to give figures, but this will change around Easter. From then on, we expect a real overflow, as that is when hotels in Paris and surrounding cities will start filling up. We are confident. Don't forget that a Eurostar ride between Brussels and Paris is often faster than a RER train journey between Paris and its suburbs!"

Image campaign

Tourism website visit.brussels isn’t missing an opportunity to highlight the Belgian capital's proximity to Paris. "An image campaign has been launched to promote Brussels as a complementary destination for people heading for Paris," says Jeroen Roppe. "For sure, it is not our intention to compete with Paris."

Still, visit.brussels has already noticed how the Games could soon provide a tourism boost. "We have seen that a major conference that traditionally takes place in Paris in the summer is now opting for Brussels."

Brussels has already secured a media deal with Metropolitan, a magazine carried on Eurostar trains. Meanwhile, talks are under way with Eurostar to ensure that travellers from Paris can travel to Brussels easily and at reasonable prices.

"Here and there, there are already signs that are positive for Brussels, but from March on it will become clearer what the impact will be.  Then we will know the size of the delegations of the different countries," concludes Jeroen Roppe.