BELGIAN FOREIGN TRADE AGENCY / Tips for Business Trips to Belgium

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TIPS for BUSINESS TRIPS to BELGIUM

Best time for a business trip	Congresses in Belgium
General information about Belgium	Fairs in Belgium
Travel regulations	Leading newspapers
Official holidays	Economic newspapers
Accommodation	Currency & Credit cards
Business hours	Cable television
Press	Voltage
Investment opportunities	Tourism in Belgium
Patents & Trademarks	Some other websites
Standards & Regulations

BFTA
January 2010

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Best time for a business trip

You are welcome the whole year round, although it is preferable to avoid :

• July-August (Summer holidays);
• the period between 20 December and 6 January;
• the week before and the week after Easter;
• the official holidays (see below).

Official holidays

2010
January 1: New Year's Day
April 4 & 5: Easter Sunday & Easter Monday
May 13: Labour Day & Ascension Day
May 23 & 24: Whit Sunday & Whit Monday
July 11: Flemish-speaking Community Day
July 21: National Commemoration Day
August 15: Assumption
September 27: French-speaking Community Day
November 1: All Saint's Day
November 11: Armistice Day (WW I)
November 15: Dynasty Day (Government Offices only)
November 15: German-speaking Community Day
December 25: Christmas Day

2011
January 1: New Year's Day
April 24 & 25: Easter Sunday & Easter Monday
May 1: Labour Day
June 2: Ascension Day
June 11& 12: Whit Sunday & Whit Monday
July 11: Flemish-speaking Community Day
July 21: National Commemoration Day
August 15: Assumption
September 27: French-speaking Community Day
November 1: All Saint's Day
November 11: Armistice Day (WW I)
November 15: Dynasty Day (Government Offices only)

November 15: German-speaking Community Day
December 25: Christmas Day

Government Offices / Monday-Friday, from 8.30 am to 12.00 am & from 1.30 pm to 4.30 pm

Banks / Monday-Friday, from 9.00 am to 12.00 am (or 13.00) & from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm

Private companies / Monday-Friday from 8.30 am to 6.00 pm

Shops & Stores / Monday-Saturday from 9.00 am to 6.30 pm (or 7.00)

Currency & Credit cards

The EURO is the local currency.
Most hotels and restaurants take credit and charge cards (American Express, Diners Club, Eurocard/Mastercard, Visa, etc...)

Travel regulations

For further information, please contact
the EMBASSY of BELGIUM or the CONSULATE GENERAL of BELGIUM + in your country.

In addition to many Belgian hotels, quite a few major international chains run hotels in Belgium.

You can make reservations through:

BELGIUM - TOURIST RESERVATIONS
Boulevard Anspach 159-163
B - 1000 Brussels
Web: www.brusselsinternational.be

General information about Belgium

BELGA - National Press Agency

Rue Pelletier 8 b

B - 1030 Brussels

Tel.: + 32 (0)2 743 13 11
Fax: + 32 (0)2 735 17 44

Web: www.belga.be

INTERNATIONAL PRESS CENTER - IPC

Rue de la Loi 155

B - 1040 Brussels

Tel.: + 32 (0)2 225 21 11
Fax: + 32 (0)2 235 21 10

Web: presscenter.org

Leading newspapers

Place de Louvain 21

B - 1000 Brussels

Tel.: + 32 (0)2 225 54 32
Fax: + 32 (0)2 225 59 14

Web: www.lesoir.be

LA LIBRE BELGIQUE
Boulevard Emile Jacqmain 127
B - 1000 Brussels
Tel : + 32 (0)2 211 27 77
Fax: + 32 (0)2 211 28 32

Web: www.lalibre.be

B - 1702 Groot-Bijgaarden

Tel.: + 32 (0)2 467 22 11
Fax: + 32 (0)2 466 30 93

Web: www.standaard.be

B - 1000 Brussels

Tel.: + 32 (0)2 556 68 11
Fax: + 32 (0)2 520 41 92

Web: www.demorgen.be

Tel.: + 32 (0)87 59 13 00
Fax: + 32 (0)87 74 30 20

Web: www.grenzecho.be

Cable television

The whole of the country is cabled, enabling more than 40 television channels to be picked up.

Leading economic newspapers

L'ECHO - Le Quotidien de l'Economie et de la Finance

Rue de Birmingham 131/7

B - 1070 Brussels

Tel.: + 32 (0)2 526 55 11
Fax: + 32 (0)2 536 55 26

Web: www.lecho.be

TRENDS (weekly)
Research Park Zellik, De Haak
B - 1731 Zellik (Brussels)
Tel.: + 32 (0)2 467 59 00
Fax: + 32 (0)2 467 57 59
Web: www.trends.be

DE FINANCIEEL EKONOMISCHE TIJD

Sint-Lazarusplein 2

B - 1210 Brussels

Tel.: + 32 (0)2 217 22 05
Fax: + 32 (0)2 219 18 46

Web: www.tijd.be

TRENDS (weekly)
Research Park Zellik, De Haak
B - 1731 Zellik (Brussels)
Tel.: + 32 (0)2 467 57 00
Fax: + 32 (0)2 467 57 58
Web: www.trends.be

In English:

THE BULLETIN (weekly)

Chaussée de Waterloo 1038

B - 1180 Brussels

Tel.: + 32 (0)2 373 99 09
Fax: + 32 (0)2 375 98 22

Email: ackroyd@innet.be

Web: www.thebulletin.be

Fairs in Belgium

Major international fairs are staged in: Antwerp, Brussels, Charleroi, Ghent and Liege.

For further information about the calendar, please visit the website of the:

MINISTRY of ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Trade Policy Administration "Exhibitions"
Boulevard du Roi Albert II 16
B - 1000 Brussels
Tel.: + 32 (0)2 206 50 05
Fax: + 32 (0)2 206 57 61
Web: www.mineco.fgov.be

Congresses in Belgium

Belgium is one of the major congress centre in the world.

For further information on this subject, please consult the calendar of congresses planned in Belgium, published by the:

BELGIAN TOURIST OFFICE (Headquarters for USA & Canada)
220 East 42nd Street, Suite 3402
(34th Floor, between 2nd & 3rd Avenue)
New York, NY 10017
Tel.: + 212 / 758 8130
Fax: + 212 / 355 7675
Email: info@visitbelgium.com
Web: www.visitbelgium.com

Tourism in Belgium

Wallonia & Brussels

TOURISM PROMOTION OFFICE
Rue Saint Bernard 30
B - 1060 Brussels
Tel.: + 32 (0)70 221 021

Email: info@opt.be
Web: www.opt.be

TOERISME VLAANDEREN
Grasmarkt 63
B - 1000 Brussels
Tel.: + 32 (0)504 04 48
Email: info@toerismevlaanderen.be
Web: www.toervl.be

VERKEHRSAMT DER OSTKANTONE
Mühlenbachstrasse 2
B - 4780 Sankt-Vith
Tel.: + 32 (0)80 22 76 64
Fax: + 32 (0)80 22 65 39
Email: info@eastbelgium.com
Web: www.eastbelgium.com

Useful addresses

Investment opportunities & Regulations

MINISTRY of ECONOMIC AFFAIRS

Service for Foreign Investments

Rue Général Leman

B - 1040 Brussels

Tel.: + 32 (0)2 206 58 64
Fax: + 32 (0)2 514 03 89

Email: invest.belgium@mineco.fgov.be

Web: www.mineco.fgov.be / www.investinbelgium.fgov.be

Regional level:

Flemish Region:

FLANDERS INVESTMENT & TRADE - FIT

Gaucheretstraat 90

B - 1000 Brussels

Tel.: + 32 (0)2 504 87 11
Fax: + 32 (0)2 504 88 99

Email: info@fitagency.be

Web: www.flanderstrade.com

Brussels Capital-Region:

THE BRUSSELS ENTERPRISE AGENCY - BEA
International Relations Department
Avenue du Port 86 C, box 211
B - 1000 Brussels
Tel.: + 32 (0)2 422 00 20
Fax: + 32 (0)2 422 00 43

Email: info@bea.irisnet.be

Web: www.bea.irisnet.be

Walloon Region:

OFFICE FOR FOREIGN INVESTORS - OFI
Avenue Materne 115
B - 5100 Namur
Tel.: + 32 (0)81 33 28 50
Fax: + 32 (0)81 33 28 69

Email: info@investinwallonia.be

Web: www.investinwallonia.be

Patents & Trademarks

MINISTRY of ECONOMIC AFFAIRS
Patent & Trademark Rights Department

Boulevard du Roi Albert II 16

B - 1000 Brussels

Tel.: + 32 (0)2 206 41 11
Fax: + 32 (0)2 206 57 13

Web: www.mineco.fgov.be

Standards & Regulations

BELGIAN STANDARDIZATION INSTITUTE
Avenue de la Brabançonne 29
B - 1000 Brussels
Tel.: + 32 (0)2 738 01 11
Fax: + 32 (0)2 733 42 64
Email: info@nbn.be
Web: www.nbn.be

Other interesting websites:

Websites of Belgian diplomatic representations

Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Addresses of the Belgian Embassies

Some federal websites

Belgian Federal Government on-line
Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Belgian Ministry of Economic Affairs
Belgian Ministry of Economic Affairs: Invest in Belgium
Belgian Ministry of Economic Affairs: Planning Department
National Bank of Belgium

Belgian Foreign Trade Agency
Rue Montoyer 3 / B - 1000 Brussels

DS / January 2010