Visit Brussels faces budget cuts of €5.7 million

Visit Brussels, the organisation responsible for promoting tourism and the image of the capital, is facing a significant budget cut of €5.7 million imposed by the Brussels region.

“In a particularly difficult budgetary context, with a deficit rising to €1.2 billion in 2025, the majority parties have chosen to limit expenditure rather than raise taxes,” said a spokesperson for the region's new minister-president Boris Dilliès (MR).

The cuts come at a time when tourism in the capital is starting to pick up again. Average hotel occupancy in Brussels stood at 71.5% in the first half of 2025, according to the latest figures from market research firm MKG Hospitality, an increase of 2.1 percentage points compared to a year earlier.

Visit Brussels’ budget stood at €22 million in 2025. The cost-cutting measure involves an immediate reduction of €2.7 million, supplemented by a planned further cut of €3 million in 2026.

The Brussels government is also drastically cutting back on export promotion, which is causing unease at Hub.brussels, the service that supports entrepreneurs.

The administration has 32 overseas offices that act as a diplomatic and economic network for the Brussels region that many fear will have to close, including the Brussels Houses in Barcelona and Milan, although no final decisions have been taken yet.

“A showcase for Brussels fashion, design and gastronomy, but also a meeting place for potential investors and tourists” is how the houses were marketed in 2023 by the Brussels government at the time. The sites were intended to symbolise the region’s image policy abroad.

But Hub.brussels must save €3 million this year on its international operations and a total of €6 million by 2029.

Those familiar with the matter suspect, however, that a calculation error was made in the frantic final sprint towards a Brussels coalition agreement.

“If the figure of €3 million is indeed correct, that would mean Hub.brussels would have to completely cease its international operations this year,” an unnamed source told Bruzz.

“Cuts to export support are completely at odds with the ambitions set out in the coalition agreement.”

The Dilliès government’s policy statement explicitly mentions "city marketing", "special attention to international trade and exports" and international conferences to stimulate the regional economy.

"Tourism policy must contribute to improving the international image," it also states.

Both Hub.brussels and Visit.brussels are also concerned about contracts already entered into, which cannot easily be cancelled. Participation in international trade fairs, for example, is often agreed upon a year in advance.