Tourism industry

About the sector

The 20th century – the golden age of tourism
The organisation, structures and expertise of tourism in Wallonia
Tourism in Wallonia : the figures
Wallonia - between nature and culture
mproving provision: strategic, technical and human know-how
Tomorrow’s main challenges
Contact

The 20th century – the golden age of tourism

As we start a new century, numerous countries in the western world now consider leisure time to be more important than time spent at work. Public authorities therefore develop cultural, recreational, tourism and educational measures (such as continuous training) for the various groups that have now become leisure time consumers.

After the initial boom in mass tourism, holidays in the countryside and cultural and gastronomic tourism have all considerably expanded since the 80s. The fragmentation of leisure activities has forced those in the travel trade to provide a wider range of choice. Just like any other industry, the tourism sector is diverse and complex and evolves according to consumer trends.

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The organisation, structures and expertise of tourism in Wallonia

The "Commissariat général au Tourisme" - CGT was set-up in 1939. It was totally restructured in 1963 before being split in 1980 as part of the country´s institutional reform. As it is considered a cultural matter, tourism is managed by each of the three Communities (French-speaking, Dutch-speaking and German-speaking). Two new bodies were therefore created: the "Commissariat au Tourisme" (for Wallonia and Brussels) and the Commissariaat-Generaal voor Toerisme (Flanders).

Following the latest State reforms in 1993, in order to complete the regionalisation process in Belgium, article 138 of the Constitution provided for transferring competence from the French-speaking Community to the Walloon region and the "Commission communautaire française" (COCOF) of the Brussels-Capital Region. Thus, there has been a transfer of competence for tourism since 1st January 1994.

The Decree of 6th May 1999 governing tourism bodies regulates the way in which tourism is organised in the French-speaking part of the Walloon Region.

The Decree acknowledges six types of tourism bodies:

The "Commissariat Général au Tourisme" (CGT)
The "Office de Promotion du Tourisme" in Wallonia and Brussels
Provincial Federations for Tourism
Tourist Offices (Offices du Tourisme)
Tourist Information Centres (Syndicats d Initiative)
Maisons du Tourisme

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Tourism in Wallonia : the figures

The CGT in Wallonia totals tourism provision at more than 67,000 beds or available places, with 49 % in camping sites (for itinerant visitors) and 30 % in hotels. Although rural tourism and accommodation on farms only represents - 21 %, this is the sector with the most premises (2,287 establishments for rural tourism and holidays on the farm), compared with 535 hotels and 300 camping sites. The accommodation market is characterised by clients who are nearly exclusively from the Benelux, whereas the region´s proximity to Northern and Eastern France draws day trippers or people on excursions, namely to visit attractions, amenities and towns with artistic heritage.

Classifying rooms in guest houses and rented self-catering cottages (gîtes) one a scale of one to four ears of corn and the one- to five-star classification used for hotels and campings provide travellers with objective criteria to help them easily compare the comfort of the accommodation on offer, due to the adoption of international standards (Benelux 2000).

In both hotel and "rural tourism" sectors, tourist provision was reorganised and more in-depth monitoring of the system of classification was implemented at the initiative of the Walloon Region. The Region runs support mechanisms for accommodation, to try and help modernise existing places and create new ones. Over half of the places available provide either average and/or superior quality comfort. Specially-created chains, such as the Logis de Belgique, have their own classification criteria that form a quality charter signed by all of the members. These help clients compare the quality of the services provided, whilst guaranteeing a certain level of comfort, decoration, furnishing and welcome.

According to the WES (Westland Economische Studiebureau), in 1998 the number of Belgian day-trippers in Wallonia reached 5,269,000 days (or 17% of the total number of trips made) with 74% occurring in the summer season. The non-profit organisation "Attractions et Tourisme" contributes to making the amusement park and other attractions sector professional and plays a unifying role by organising the promotion of all of its members by distributing a brochure edited in four languages on growth markets. The members guarantee to provide access to their sites for individuals without prior booking, during long opening hours and also offer guided tours. They commit themselves to meeting some quality, hygiene, safety, and reception criteria.

On the whole, there is a move to certify services. This requires a clear vision of client expectations, implementing plans to help qualification, marketing based on a finely-tuned strategy, the implementation of mechanisms for checking referentials, an evaluation of actions and a labelling process. These are all gradually being developed in the travel trade.

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Wallonia - between nature and culture

Lots of regions in the country draw economic resources from this young industry, able to create a considerable number of jobs. The towns linked to art in Wallonia (Arlon, Brussels, Liège, Namur, Tournai, etc.) attract vast crowds of Belgian and foreign tourists alike. As well as international cultural activities, Wallonia offers a plethora of sports and recreational activities, to be experienced during a brief excursion or longer stay. The variety of scenery is in strict contrast to the limited size of the territory. The concentration of a large number of attractions, sites, museums, castles and national heritage per km2 designates the country as a priveleged destination with a very dense road network. As a green haven in the heart of an industrialised European market of more than 250 million inhabitants, Belgium has a calculated potential of around -10 million tourists within a 200 km radius.

Since 1994, the Walloon Government has substantially increased the budget allocated to tourism in order to make it more economically oriented. A budget of nearly 37,200 million euros has been allocated to selling the image of Wallonia and its products, improving its accommodation and leisure infrastructures and highlighting its wealth of heritage based on a strategic plan developed from an analysis of existing and potential markets.

Attracting tourists starts with developing attractive and welcoming reception facilities, placed in categories according to objective criteria, before moving to providing reliable and complete information on the various options of visits and stays. Revitalising public areas, buildings and sites increases the appeal of rural areas, strengthens the identity of towns, increases hospitality, makes their promotion easier and increases visits. One of the keys of competitivity involves renewing travel trade products, developing a good sales system and investing in training, namely in languages.

Between 1994 and 1999, the means allocated to projects for tourism amenities in Wallonia increased considerably if regional and European subsidies are added. As well as funds allocated through Objectives 1, 2 and 5B, Konver, Résider, Leader and Interreg are all Community initiatives to help the tourism sector be competitive on rival markets and develop know-how that Walloon actors can export today.

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mproving provision: strategic, technical and human know-how

From its initial traditional stage, the tourism industry has gradually acquired professional tools. The voluntary workers who were mainly "grass roots militants" are gradually being replaced by paid service providers, specially trained in the tourist trade. In terms of training, demands reply to the needs in the field. In the fields of management, organisation, leading activities, welcoming and guiding people, creating and marketing tourist products, the training provided guarantees access to the profession, particularly in the hotel, restaurant and café sector and in tour operators.

As in any industry, higher training provided by universities or higher education institutions is then complemented by on-the-job experience in the cultural or travel sector.

Touristic and cultural engineering gradually became a necessary part of the sector’s development. As local authorities and most of the private actors do not have either the skillls nor human means needed to carry out all of the studies to develop tourism and cultural infrastructures, engineering has become the constant partner of elected representatives and decision-makers.

This involves providing dynamic and quick operational advice to those responsible for operations. From providing simple external advice, consultants have moved to more targeted support, where a preliminary study has become an unavoidable part of any decision, not only for the contractor, but also for his partners. It is logical that a bank manager should ask a potential borrower to show the result of studies carried out on any project where funding is being requested. And some forms of public aid can only be awarded following the conclusions of a preliminary study.

All aspects linked to leisure, culture and tourism are concerned: strategic design and procedures, forecasting, diagnosis, development strategy, policy evaluation, project grouping, conception, definition, feasibility studies, contracting assistance, setting-up operations, planning, development plans, flow management, new tourism units, programming, museography, scenography, interpretation, marketing, client surveys, market surveys, marketing plans, product assembly, commercial organisation, sales networks, booking centres, communication strategy, media plans, public relations, designing advertising mediums, event organisation, sponsorship and patronage, NTIC, management and finance, financial packages, management support, legal analyses (with law professionals), taxation, management IT, organisation and management, staff training.

Mainly new techniques are used - all geared towards improving the products offered by the travel trade - taking into consideration the needs of ever-more-demanding target groups: audio-guides, updated scenography, use of new technologies and innovative techniques (cameras with zoom lenses, Internet screens, scenography and special effects), signalling, entertainment routes, interpretation tours, lighting and illumination on sites, exploiting green areas, developing spaces for increasing conviviality (restaurants, shops, play areas, entertainment, car parks, better lay-out of access zones, ticketing, installing signposted routes, etc.).

Recent work carried out in the Walloon Region has demonstrated the know-how and "share of knowledge" that has led to a significant increase in visitor numbers and enhanced interest shown by the authorities in the effects on the sector.

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Tomorrow’s main challenges

Regional tourist trade provision must adapt in order to face both abundant international competition and an increasingly tough and changing product demand.

Sustainable development requirements must favour tourism that aims to preserve national and natural heritage, as well as landscaping and building resources. Sustainable tourism alone leads to the conservation and protection of sites, as these are the raw material it needs for its development.

Tourist activity plays a vital role in regional development and sometimes helps sustain activity in the remotest areas.

On a mature and highly-competititive market and within a context where financial means are measured, in-depth knowledge of data is a pre-requisite for any action.

Even if statistical definitions and classifications were defined by the WTO in 1991, there is a real need to share a common language for analysis, to be able to compare and combine economic data on an international basis. The lack of credibility affecting the tourism industry to this day stems from the fact that its economic impact is not measured. The WTO recommends adopting an account called "satellite tourism", to act as a yardstick for providing a macro-economic analysis, compared with the results obtained in statistical analysis: a reasonable consistency between measurement tools in order to be able to compare the data obtained. The objective to be met is clearly set.

Peace, durability, ethics and technology are challenges that tourism must confront during this millennium. Provisions by the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) plan a long-term increase that will reach one billion international tourists by 2010 and 1.5 billion by 2020.

"Today tourism is acknowledged as one of the most important and rapidly-developing economic activities worldwide. The challenge to analyse efficiently the power of this industry in the fight against poverty", according to Nelson Mandela.

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