In 2025, visit.brussels strengthened Brussels' visibility and attractiveness on the international market through targeted strategic initiatives that included participation in international trade fairs, the deployment of MICE commercial actions, the assistance offered to support the organisers of congresses, trade fairs and events and the activation of the Ambassadors Programme. Each of these actions helped to promote Brussels as a destination of choice for tourism and professional events.
Business tourism
598 requests
of convention/event handled by the Convention Bureau in 2025 (vs 609 in 2024)
1.900 professional meetings
held/organised on our stands by visit.brussels and its partners
#1
UIA Brussels ranking*
* Brussels ranked in the "Most Popular meeting cities" category of the Union of International Associations (in 2024, 2023, 2022: 1st)
In 2025, visit.brussels represented the Brussels-Capital Region and its partners at several leading international trade fairs, complemented by around thirty targeted commercial actions, to strengthen the visibility of the destination and promote a strong and positive brand image. These initiatives were carried out in close collaboration with Brussels' business tourism partners – hotels, venues, event organisers, PCOs, group restaurants, incentive operators – with the aim of offering them tailor-made commercial actions at attractive conditions.
Among the highlights of the year were IBTM World Barcelona (18–20 November) and IMEX Frankfurt (20–22 May), Europe’s two biggest MICE industry events. IBTM World brought together more than 2,500 destinations, hotels and suppliers as well as more than 12,000 professionals from around 100 countries, while IMEX Frankfurt hosted a structured programme for hosted buyers with 4,000 prospects and around 65,000 meetings for all destinations, primarily with a European clientele. On both occasions, visit.brussels organised presentations on its stand for groups of hosted buyers, thus helping to position Brussels as a competitive and attractive MICE destination internationally.
More generally, in 2025, visit.brussels focused on diversifying approaches and formats to reach out to its target audiences, favouring more targeted, qualified and innovative actions. The objective was to reach key players in MICE tourism, both in Belgium and in neighbouring markets (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom) and the United States, through new formulas promoting exchange, networking and cooperation. These actions helped to mobilise all the players around a common objective: to strengthen Brussels' international attractiveness, while promoting close and structured collaboration with partners, particularly at the Belgian level.
In 2025, visit.brussels intensified its role as a driver of prospecting and development of business tourism, by carrying out proactive and structured work with more than 250 identified congress leads. In close collaboration with academic, institutional and professional experts in Brussels, the Convention Bureau of visit.brussels supported the mobilisation of these ambassadors around strategic applications aimed at attracting new international trade fairs and congresses. This targeted and qualitative approach contributed directly to the generation of many concrete events, while strengthening the visibility and credibility of Brussels as a leading MICE destination.
To maximise the chances of success, visit.brussels deployed increased resources in terms of the preparation of bid books, the organisation of site visits, and the submission of applications in Belgium and abroad. The results of this dynamic were particularly convincing: 2025 was a record year, with more than 42 formal applications submitted for congresses planned between 2026 and 2030 (compared to 23 in 2024) and 23 site visits organised. In addition to the already secured benefits (more than 60 conferences with more than 500 participants in the coming years), this volume also testified to a solid pipeline of open applications for the coming years (70 applications still open for events with more than 500 participants), a guarantee of sustainable prospects and significant economic benefits for the Brussels-Capital Region.
© visit.brussels - Jean-Paul Remy
The support programme set up by visit.brussels is a strategic lever that’s key to the development of business tourism in Brussels. Through this scheme, visit.brussels provides decisive assistance to B2B events organised in the territory, allowing beneficiaries to benefit from tailor-made services and personalised support.
In 2025, Brussels Welcome Support facilitated the organisation of 16 international events by offering transport tickets, tastings of local produce and catering services, among other things.
This initiative has enabled visit.brussels to reach nearly 75,000 participants, thus generating a particularly satisfactory return on investment in terms of image and notoriety for the Brussels-Capital Region. The programme also aims to retain recurring events, thus consolidating Brussels' position as the international capital of congresses and trade fairs.
In 2025, visit.brussels continued and strengthened the development of its Ambassadors Programme, a major lever for increasing Brussels' international attractiveness in the professional events market. This ambitious programme aims to bring together a network of high-level Brussels experts, promote the centres of excellence present in the region and transform this intellectual capital into concrete opportunities to host international congresses and events.
The year was marked by two key events: the annual Ambassadors' evening the visit.brussels Night and the Meet & Greet. These are two key events that promote networking, the ambassadors' commitment and the emergence of new collaborative proposals. In addition to their direct role in generating new bids to host congresses in Brussels, these actions have also contributed to the influence of the programme, with media coverage in the magazine Sabato, reaching 314,000 readers. This visibility sustainably strengthens Brussels' positioning as a destination of excellence for high value-added professional events.
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