But despite its growth, Walloon Brabant remains far behind its neighbors. Hainaut (677,810 arrivals, +2.5%) and Namur (694,585 arrivals, +4.3%) have almost double the number of arrivals, while the other provinces exceed one million arrivals, sometimes very significantly.
For comparison, the most touristy province, thanks to its coastline, West Flanders, alone attracts more than 4.3 million visitors to its tourist accommodation, more than all of Wallonia (4.2 million arrivals).
The shortest stays in the country
In 2025, Walloon Brabant recorded 607,459 overnight stays (+6.2%). This represents an average length of stay of 1.67 nights, the shortest in the country. Limburg reaches 3.02 nights on average, compared to 2.35 nationally.
The tourist profile in our province remains marked by a strong domination of hotels, which concentrate 92% of arrivals, compared to 1.7% for guest rooms. The balance is shared between youth hostels, holiday lodges and campsites, without further details, the number of operators in these last three categories being too low for Statbel to be able to communicate the figures.
Another specificity of Walloon Brabant: arrivals peak in May (36,035), ahead of August (35,513) and October (34,639), an atypical calendar which reflects the importance of business tourism in the province.
In all the other Belgian provinces, July or August dominates. Brussels is also special with April, December and May being the most touristy months in terms of arrivals.
“Slow tourism”, soft mobility and business tourism: 3 strategic axes
To strengthen its attractiveness, the Province of Walloon Brabant is focusing on several axes, explains the provincial deputy in charge of tourism, Benjamin Goes.
The first is that of “slow tourism”, with experiences centered on the discovery of the territory.
“The Vino-Trip, cycling weekends through the Brabant vineyards, is always sold outunderlines the deputy. A route around local breweries, the Brassicole Tour, is in preparation.”
The development of soft mobility constitutes another lever. Cycle loops are being studied, in collaboration with the Municipalities, in order to structure a coherent offer for visitors.
Finally, business tourism remains a strategic pillar, with the support of the Maison du tourisme du Brabant wallon.
Among the projects in the pipeline, there is also the launch of a study on equestrian tourism, given the large number of stud farms, equestrian farms and others in our province.
Capitalize on the Hockey World Cup
But the major challenge for this year 2026 will obviously be the Hockey World Cup which will be held next August in Wavre.
“We are going to do everything so that this rather unique event has tourist repercussions. We are developing packs combining tickets for the matches with entries into the tourist attractions of Walloon Brabant. Our objective is for supporters to stay a little longer with us and discover our province which has many qualities, notably its natural heritage, in addition to its three major points of attraction which are the Walibi, the battlefield of Waterloo and the ruins of Villers-la-Ville. We must take advantage of the showcase that this World Cup offers us.
Finally, the Province is part of the approach of the regional Minister of Tourism Valérie Lescrenier to support the Municipalities in carrying out an inventory of their tourist attractions.
Beyond the figures, the issue is also economic.“And if Walloon Brabant remains small in terms of tourism in Belgium, its potential is enormous”concludes Benjamin Goes.
