The first international visitors to the Tomorrowland electronic music festival have arrived in Belgium, with around 50,000 people from 165 countries travelling under the event’s Global Journey package.
The package includes hotel accommodation in Brussels or Antwerp and transport by train, plane or coach.
Although the festival itself takes place in Boom, Antwerp province, Global Journey activities for visitors are being held in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges during the four days leading up to the event.
Tomorrowland will once again run over two weekends, from 17 to 19 July and from 24 to 26 July, at the De Schorre recreational park in Boom.
On Wednesday, the first Brussels Airlines “party flight” from Ibiza will land at Brussels Airport. In total, nearly 25,000 festivalgoers from 106 countries will travel to Tomorrowland on the Belgian airline.
A DJ will perform on seven of those flights at an altitude of around 30,000 feet.
At Brussels Airport, visitors will be welcomed with DJ sets, performers dressed in Tomorrowland colours, a pop-up shop selling festival merchandise and baggage reclaim areas decorated in the festival’s theme.
More than 9,000 visitors will arrive in Belgium by train, while about 10,000 others will travel by coach. Some trains will also feature Tomorrowland’s signature music.
A total of 43 hotels in Brussels and 12 in Antwerp are taking part in the Global Journey offer.
“Global Journey has become much more than a travel programme,” festival spokeswoman Debby Wilmsen said. “From the moment visitors board a party flight or party train, or arrive at Brussels Airport, they become an integral part of the festival.”
Some of these international visitors will then take part in activities organised around the festival in Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges.
These include city tours, culinary events and other experiences designed to showcase the best of Belgium.
According to Tomorrowland's organisers, Global Journey brings a broader tourism and economic benefit to the country.
Hotels, restaurants and local attractions, particularly in Brussels and Antwerp, draw thousands of visitors who extend their stay before and after the festival, they said.
