Expatica news

The tourist sector represents 6.7% of all jobs in Flanders and Brussels

The tourist industry in Flanders and Brussels has produced 235 000 jobs, the latest figures concerning the impact of tourism on the economy released yesterday by Flemish Minister of Tourism Geert Bourgeois N-VA indicate. This total is made up of 182,000 employees, 51,000 self-employed and 2,500 student workers and represents about 6.7% of all jobs in Flanders and Brussels. In 2010 tourism contributed a gross 12.2 billion euros of income or 5% of the Flemish GDP, which is more than other sectors such as the chemical, financial, insurance and food industries. “Tourism is a labour intensive sector and fulfils a key economic role,” says Bourgeois. “Moreover it involves employment that is not transferable to other countries and is a sector that employs a large number of less educated workers. Investments by the public Flanders Tourism Office and numerous other partners in innovation and quality improvement have therefore paid off. It has further been proven in the past that tourism is a resilient industry capable of a quick recovery after times of economic crisis.”
The sector’s contribution to the Flemish economy can be compared to that in countries such as the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary and Germany. In countries like Portugal and Austria, tourism plays a much more prominent economic role. And in the economy of southern European countries like Spain and Cyprus tourism even represents more thant 20 percent of the economy.