WELCOME TO ANTWERP
WELKOM IN ANTWERPEN - BIENVENUE À ANVERS
GEERT BOURGEOIS VLAAMS MINISTER VOOR TOERISME MINISTRE FLAMAND DU TOURISME FLÄMISCHE MINISTER FÜR TOURISMUS FLEMISH MINISTER OF TOURISM
On the occasion of the WorldOutgames in Antwerp we welcome many foreign participants to Flanders. As Minister for Tourism I am pleased that participants have come from all over the world. For me, this is an ideal opportunity to put Flanders, and especially Antwerp, on the tourist map. We have initiated a number of activities to promote Flanders as a LGBT-friendly tourist destination. Naturally, this is a niche story which is limited to a few specific actions in a number of markets. The fields of interest through which Flanders wants to appeal to this target group are arts, culture, cultural heritage, fashion and gastronomy, in short the more sophisticated pleasures of life. These mesh perfectly with our foreign promotion policy and often attract a more wealthy target group. We promote Flanders as a LGBT-friendly destination, especially in the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany and the Netherlands. That this promotion is having the desired effect is apparent from the large numbers of participants from these countries. Geographically, Flanders can be easily reached from many places and in this small area there are many things to visit and to experience that are attractive to this target group. Moreover, in Flanders there is a fairly LGBT-friendly, more progressive climate. In this respect Flanders is a frontrunner, especially on the international level. In Europe, a similar climate is gradually developing, albeit not without resistance. Outside Europe, however, such a LGBT-friendly climate is far from straightforward. Flanders is in any case regarded as a pioneer. It is now ten years since marriage has been opened to same-sex couples. This has given great publicity to Flanders. Antwerp is one of our art cities and is famous for its arts, heritage, gastronomy and fashion. Add to that the many entertainment possibilities for LGBTs and you have the perfect LGBT destination in Europe... I wish all the participants a pleasant stay in Antwerp and I hope that, someday, they will visit Antwerp and Flanders again as tourists.