Ghent’s Plans to Combat Mass Tourism: Interview with Alderman of Tourism for Green

Ghent has a tourist problem. The city wants to get rid of mass tourism with a number of measures. Business AM spoke to Bram Van Braeckevelt, alderman of Tourism for Green, about the plans.

Listen to the full conversation with Bram Van Braekevelt here:

The essence: Ghent wants less mass tourism. The city hopes to keep the city liveable with fewer day tourists and more tourists who stay longer. Measures are already being taken.

• Van Braeckevelt: “We don’t want to become a tourist city, but remain a city with tourists. We must dare to focus. We have resolutely opted for tourists who want to visit Ghent for several days. Because research shows that what disturbs Ghent residents the most about tourism are groups that walk through Ghent for a few hours.”
• “There is a wave of tourism coming to European cities. That is why we think it is important that we can still take a number of measures. For example, banning sea cruises and limiting river cruises. But also keep the buses that visit our city out of the center.”
• “We also think it is important to be able to work well with the supra-local authorities. For example in the field of Airbnbs: to ensure that they play the game correctly and do not act illegally, we ask that the Airbnbs can disclose their addresses,” says Van Braeckevelt. “If we were to pursue a policy in which we are blind to the impact in the future, we would also regret it in the future. We have the feeling that mass tourism has also taken over in Ghent.”