Skip to main content

Belgium

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Tourism
  • 38 Accesses

Belgium occupies a central position in Western Europe, bordering Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France. The political system is characterized by a three-tiered federation, comprising a federal government, three communities (Flemish, French, and German speaking), and three regions (Flemish, Walloon, and Brussels Capital). The country has a population of 10.4 million in 30,528 km2 (11,787 mi2). In 2012, its national GDP was US$484.7 billion, or $43,686 per capita, ranking 18th worldwide (IMF 2013) (Figure 1).

Belgium, Figure 1
figure 26 figure 26

Map of Belgium

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 729.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • IMF 2013 Data and Statistics. Washington DC: International Monetary Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD 2012 Tourism Trends and Policies. Paris: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toerisme Vlaanderen 2001 Toerisme in België. Product/Organisatie/Beleid. Brussels: Toerisme Vlaanderen.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNWTO 2013a World Tourism Barometer. Madrid: World Tourism Organization.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNWTO 2013b Compendium of Tourism Statistics. Madrid: World Tourism Organization.

    Google Scholar 

  • WES 2011 Reisgedrag van de Belgen 2010. Bruges: West-Vlaams Economisch Studiebureau.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bart Neuts .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this entry

Cite this entry

Neuts, B. (2016). Belgium. In: Jafari, J., Xiao, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Tourism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-01384-8_433

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics