Complaints about overcrowding, disruptive visitors and pressure on cities may feel like a distinctly modern problem, associated with places such as Venice in Italy, Barcelona in Spain or Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Yet Belgium experienced remarkably similar tensions a century ago, when a surge in foreign visitors sparked widespread unease among local residents.
Tag: United States
Brussels Airport summer flight schedule: 180 non-stop destinations served by 70 airlines, 8 new routes and 5 new airlines
Brussels Airport kicks off the summer season on 29 March 2026 with an offer of direct flights to 180 destinations. Travellers can choose from eight new destinations this summer, both within and outside Europe.
Flanders welcomed over 15 million visitors in 2025
Flanders is becoming increasingly popular as a tourist destination. In 2025, an estimated 15.4 million people visited the region, marking a 3% increase compared to 2024, according to provisional figures from Visit Flanders (Toerisme Vlaanderen). The number of overnight stays also rose to 36.3 million.
BRUSSELS PRIDE 2026 | “When times get darker, we shine brighter”
Brussels Pride will return to Belgium‘s capital on Saturday 16 May 2026, celebrating its 30th anniversary with a strong political message about visibility, solidarity and resistance. Organisers expect around 200,000 people to gather in the city centre for the annual march and celebrations.
SPARTACUS GAY TRAVEL INDEX 2026 | Belgium among safest destinations
Belgium has been ranked among the most LGBTQIA+-friendly destinations in the world in the Spartacus Gay Travel Index 2026, the annual global ranking published by Spartacus International Gay Guide. The country shares fourth place globally with Canada, Germany, and Portugal, confirming its status as one of the safest and most welcoming places for queer travellers.
REVIEW | SAS Scandinavian Airlines System – Atlanta to Copenhagen – business class – Airbus A330
Easter 2025. I’m visiting my uncle and aunt in Leland, North Carolina. It’s my first trip of two to the United States in 2025. I haven’t seen them live since February 2020 just before the first lockdown and I haven’t travelled to this area since 2019. I’m flying with SAS and Delta. The itinerary: Brussels…
TALLINN | Lennusadam Seaplane Harbour Estonian Maritime Museum
August 2025. We’re travelling to the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and more specifically their respective capitals Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius. Are they interconnected by rail? Yes, but not in the most straightforward or userfriendly way possible. The Rail Baltica project should remedy this. Unsurprisingly though, this megaproject faces political and budgetary hurdles. It…
REVIEW | Delta Sky Club Lounge at Atlanta Airport Concourse F
Easter 2025. I’m visiting my uncle and aunt in Leland, North Carolina. It’s my first trip of two to the United States in 2025. I haven’t seen them live since February 2020 just before the first lockdown and I haven’t travelled to this area since 2019. I’m flying with SAS and Delta. The itinerary: Brussels…
BELGIUM | Safer in theory, harsher in reality: polarisation and violence mark 2025 for LGBTQIA+ people
Belgium remains one of Europe’s front-runners when it comes to legal protection for LGBTQIA+ people. Yet 2025 exposed a widening gap between progressive legislation and everyday reality, one can read in ILGA-Europe‘s Annual Review. Civil society organisations report a continued rise in homophobic and transphobic violence, declining acceptance among young people, and growing polarisation in…
Belgian travel to the United States continued to decline throughout 2025
Travel demand from Belgium to the United States weakened markedly in 2025, confirming a structural downturn rather than a short-lived fluctuation. Official arrival data from the U.S. International Trade Administration indicate that in 11 of the 12 months, fewer Belgians entered the United States than during the same periods in 2024.