Brief Brussels

DEGREE IN TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT
2011 – 2012 Academic Year

COUNTRY OF DESTINATION BRIEF

MODULE: WBLA

PERIOD: Semester 7

LECTURERS: Zaida Rodrigo

STUDENT: Sergi Calvache Egea

INDEX

INTRODUCTION 3


PESTEL ANALYSIS 4

PESTEL 17

APPENDIX 20

REFERENCES 27

KINGDOM OF BELGIUM

Belgium is situated in the west of Europe, bordered to the north by the Netherlands,to the east by Germany and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and to the south and the west by France. Although its surface area of 30,528 km2 makes it a small country, its location has made it the economic and urban nerve centre of Europe. It has a population of about 11 million people. Straddling the cultural boundary between Germanic and Latin Europe, Belgium is home to two main linguistic groups,the Dutch-speakers, mostly Flemish (about 60%), and the French-speakers, mostly Walloons (about 40%), plus a small group of German-speakers. Belgium's two largest regions are the Dutch-speaking region of Flanders in the north and the French-speaking southern region of Wallonia. The Brussels-Capital Region, officially bilingual, is a mostly French-speaking enclave within the Flemish Region AGerman-speaking Community exists in eastern Wallonia. Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in the political history and a complex system of government.

Belgium as an independent country, is still quite young. Independence was declared in 1830. At this time, the various regions of Belgium already had a rich history. The different periods from this era have eachcontributed to the diversity, openness, character and strength of Belgium today.

Tourists from all over the world are attracted to Belgium and its cosmopolitan capital, Brussels.[1]

PESTEL ANALYSIS

1.- POLITICAL / LEGAL
Regional policies
Belgium is a constitutional, popular monarchy and a federal parliamentary democracy. The bicameral federal parliament is composed of a Senate and a Chamberof Representatives. The King (currently Albert II) is the head of state, though with limited prerogatives. He appoints ministers, including a Prime Minister, that have the confidence of the Chamber of Representatives to form the federal government. The Council of Ministers is composed of no more than fifteen members. The majority of Belgium political parties represents the political and linguisticinterests of these communities. Finally, Belgium’s political institutions are complex; most political power is organised around the need to represent the main cultural communities (The Union European).[2]
Nowadays, the current government is led by Walloon socialist Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo.


The Federal Government based in Brussels is divided in three regions:
The FlemishRegion, subdivided into five provinces. It is included in the territory of the Flemish speaking Community.
The Walloon Region, subdivided into five provinces. It is the territory of the German-speaking Community
The Brussels-Capital Region. It is included in both the Flemish and French Communities.
The Federal State's authority includes justice, defence, federal police, socialsecurity, nuclear energy, monetary policy and public debt, and other aspects of public finances. State-owned companies include the Belgian Post Group and Belgian Railways. The Federal Government is responsible for the obligations of Belgium and its federalized institutions towards the European Union and NATO. It controls substantial parts of public health, home affairs and foreign affairs. Thebudget—without the debt—controlled by the federal government amounts to about 50% of the national fiscal income. The federal government employs around 12% of the civil servants.[3]
Communities exercise their authority only within linguistically determined geographical boundaries, originally oriented towards the individuals of a Community's language: culture (including audiovisual media), education and...