Should more of us visit Brussels? The Belgian capital’s residents certainly think so.
While tourist hotspots across Europe brace for the influx of international footfall this summer, as many as 74.6% out of 1,000 Brussels residents surveyed across 19 municipalities described their city an "underrated" destination, according to research by iVOX for Ovide-Airbnb.
With 3.7 million people having travelled to Brussels in 2025, a slight decrease from 3.71 million visitors in 2024, 79% of respondents said that tourism is “essential” for the city, in that it supports local businesses and the wider economy.
“Not enough people know that Brussels, and Belgium as a whole, are great for tourism,” Angela Dansby, author of “Best of Belgium: The Complete Travel Guide Through Expat Eyes”, told Euronews Travel.
“While I don’t think that Brussels lacks tourists, I do feel that it’s underrated as a destination. My own visitors, and I’ve had plenty, are always very pleasantly surprised by the city and echo my sentiment.”