Concise.pdf - Brugge Plus

this formula has potential for the future, certainly in the accommodation sector. In
the end 1,513 BRUGGE 2002 Passes were sold, which is quite a large number compared
with the traditional tourist package arrangements.
ON-SITE RECEPTION AND PROVISION OF INFORMATION
As regards tourist satisfaction with the welcome given and the information provided,
Toerisme Brugge was given a score of 2.9 out of 5. The hoteliers were given a slightly
higher score by the tourists staying in Bruges: 3.5 out of 5 for the welcome and 3.3
out of 5 for the information supplied. The WES study points to the problem of the
fragmentation of the points of contact for the visitor. It might have been better to have
had all the information services and ticket sales centralised in one entity, as had been
considered before the start of BRUGGE 2002.
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BRUGGE 2002
The representatives of employers, employees, Horeca Vlaanderen (the Flanders association
for the hotel, restaurant and catering sector) and BRUGGE 2002 joined forces
to optimise the “front-line reception services”. Employees in the hotel, restaurant and
catering sector were prepared for BRUGGE 2002 by means of a targeted training initiative.
The emphasis lay on a customer-friendly approach and the provision of information.
This initiative proved to be a great success.
With a view to being able to deal with requests from tour operators in a professional
manner, a “trade unit” was set up within Toerisme Brugge. This unit should have
started up on April 1 st 2001, but in fact eventually became operational on September
1 st 2001. The trade unit had to face a number of teething problems, but once up and
running it formed an important link in the BRUGGE 2002 action. The professional
travel sector could contact it for specific trade information, promotional material and
tickets at professional rates. The know-how and contacts that this unit built up during
the cultural year remain within Toerisme Brugge and are to be further exploited
after 2002.
The relationship between BRUGGE 2002 and the tourist sector
The apparently logical synergy between culture and tourism is in reality not so selfevident.
Contacts between the tourist sector and the cultural world appeared to be
barely existent, if existent at all, on the eve of BRUGGE 2002. Mutual understanding
was often lacking, too, inter alia on account of insufficient knowledge and perception
of each other’s problems and feelings.
Under the impetus of the tourism co-ordinator, Dieter Dewulf, BRUGGE 2002 brought
public and private players from both sectors together in the “Accommodation”,
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