Visit.brussels will have to cut 37 staff members, or almost a quarter (23%) of its 159 employees, in the face of budget slashing from the capital’s new government. The Dilliès government is counting on voluntary departures and retirements to achieve this, Le Soir reports, with no compulsory redundancies planned. “We’ve been asked by the government to focus on our core tasks, and we are taking the necessary measures to do so,” Geert Cochez, deputy chief executive of the agency, told Bruzz. It has been known
since the end of March that the Brussels tourism agency would have to make steep cuts and close multiple offices, but now a formal agreement has been made between Visit.brussels, the trade unions and the office of minister-president Boris Dilliès (MR), who is also responsible for tourism. The Dilliès cabinet confirmed the agreement but said the reforms still need to be discussed within the government. Little is yet clear about the specific implications for the running of Visit.brussels, which is involved in, among other things,
organising Brussels Pride, the Bright Brussels light festival and the Iris Festival. The agency will have to cut €3 million this year, which is less than the €5.7 million feared in March. The cuts will be increased to €5 million in 2028 and €6 million in 2029. The government is also planning cross-cutting savings by merging various departments and having tasks currently handled separately by each agency carried out by a new pillar. This is expected to save a further €2.7 million euros in 2026,
rising to as much as €8 million by 2029. Ultimately, the government wants the agency to be able to operate on an annual grant of €12 million, compared to €22.4 million in 2025. Visit.brussels generated about €9 million in its own revenue that year, including through ticket sales, sponsorship and venue hire. The coalition agreement stipulates that the savings must not result in outright redundancies. According to the Dilliès cabinet, 29 employees are due to voluntarily leave as early as next month, and nine more
will do so in 2027.
Visit.brussels, Brussels tourism agency, Boris Dilliès, budget cuts, staff reductions, voluntary departures, trade unions, Brussels Pride, Bright Brussels, Iris Festival