Buoyed by the success of the first three editions, BI-TC (Brussels International – Tourism & Congress) launched the 4th Brussels Meetings Week this Friday, a whole week devoted to promoting business travel, meetings & events, a mainstay of the economic life of Brussels.

Brussels hosts an impressive number of meetings and events on the Belgian and international scene every year. This important dynamism, with considerable repercussions on the economy and employment in Brussels, is most often held within the boundaries of the city.

From the organisation of conferences, trade fairs, business trips and other events, the people of Brussels most often only know what the media cover. And when they go to the Motor show, or attend the festivities of the “Ommegang,” take the whole family to “Plaisirs d’Hiver” (Winter Wonders), or hear about European summits, they are not always aware of what the organisation of such events entails in terms of the many efforts involved.

Thanks to the 55,000 meetings that are held every year, which are attended by 14 million participants, this “industry” generates some 4 billion euros per year, with consequential repercussions for employment – i.e. some 22,000 direct and indirect jobs created in the Brussels Region. Furthermore, the innovations, political decisions and other types of scientific progress that are discussed there, prefigure as many advancements from which the entire population can benefit in the more or less long term.

To put this highly active sector of Brussels life to the fore, Brussels International - Tourism & Congress (BI-TC), created the “Brussels Meetings Week,” a week dedicated to the sector of the Meetings Industry (or MICE: Meetings, Incentives, Congresses and Events).