The Walloon Minister of Tourism, René Collin (CDH), stated Thursday to Wavre that according to information provided by operators, tourism in Wallonia was only slightly affected by the attacks committed in Brussels. Cancellations were registered to a very limited degree. Only during a short period, in which the French government suspended school trips to Belgium, was there a considerable decrease in visits. Safety instructions were however recalled to the various Walloon tourism operators.
Last March 24th, when the French Minister of National Education, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem demanded that the local education authorities suspend school trips with Belgian destinations, Minister Collin was quickly informed by certain Walloon operators, particularly the Pairi Daiza Park and Euro Space Centre. Following several interventions with the minister, the measure was suspended on April 13th. Outside this short period, there appears to be no considerable decrease in visits to the tourist attractions in Wallonia related to the Brussels attacks.
The Attractions et Tourisme not-for-profit organization did however send a message to its members prior to the beginning of the season reminding certain security principles and providing advice on prevention measures that could be needed. Certain operators then applied measures such as the prohibition of certain types of bags and obligatory instructions.
(Source: Belga)
