Whilst the harmful effects of the negative consequences associated with the excessive concentration of tourist activities in city centres are well documented and widely recognised, Brussels continues to focus on developing new projects designed to attract visitors, to the detriment of the city as a place for residents.
From the Beer Museum, which has taken up residence in the Bourse, to the Cat Museum currently under construction, this tour raises awareness of the consequences of a lack of regulation of the tourism sector, as well as the adverse effects of neighbourhoods entirely dedicated to museums, such as our famous ‘Mont des Arts’: the disappearance of traditional housing, the proliferation of hospitality venues, a decline in commercial diversity and the over-exploitation of public spaces…
And if there are any places that crystallise all these issues, it is the shopping arcades we will pass along the way, from the Agora Arcade to the Bortier Arcade, not forgetting the Royal Saint-Hubert Arcades, which are bearing the brunt of the city’s ‘pralinisation’!
Despite the political difficulty of reversing the trend, it is possible to chart a different course to champion a vision of the city that prioritises its residents, and this tour aims to offer you some alternative courses of action and demands to counter overtourism, whilst never forgetting that the most pleasant cities to visit… are those that are alive and inhabited!
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