Flemish Minister for Tourism, Ben Weyts, together with VISITFLANDERS and the tourism industry, has launched the #shareoursmilecampaign. The launch took place at Brussels Airport, the largest international gateway to the country. The #shareoursmilecampaign is aimed at giving international tourists a warm welcome.
The aim of the #shareoursmile campaign is for the international tourist to experience the hospitality throughout their entire stay: from arrival at the airport, to their experience on the train, in the taxi, in the hotel, in the restaurant and café, in the museums, with the guide, etc. until they travel home again.
In partnership with Brussels Airport, VISITFLANDERS installed five major contact points in the airport around the campaign theme. In addition, a number of actions will welcome arriving passengers with a fun #shareoursmilesurprise package and a musical performance.
Arnaud Feist, CEO, Brussels Airport Company said, “Brussels Airport is for many tourists and business travellers the first contact point with our country. It’s the signboard of our country and we think it’s important that passengers enjoy a pleasant stay at the airport, with a qualitative infrastructure, a friendly smile and our worldwide known hospitality. That’s the core of our strategy. For that reason, we gladly support the Share our smile campaign.”
VISITFLANDERS will also send out promotional teams during summer to present the campaign to the tour operators and international tourists in a fun way. Peter De Wilde, CEO, VISITFLANDERS said, “For VISITFLANDERS this campaign is also an absolute first. Usually, we exclusively set up campaigns abroad. That is quite logical of course if you know that getting foreign tourists to come to Flanders and Brussels is our core activity. This campaign, on the other hand, is launched at home, but is clearly aimed at the international tourist.”
The #shareoursmile campaign is part of the global recovery strategy that wants to give a boost to the tourism industry in Belgium. For instance, in the neighbouring countries a number of joint promotions are currently operating in partnership with Thalys, Eurostar and Deutsche Bahn.