The Walloon Minister of Tourism, Valérie De Bue, announced on Monday that the promotion of the VISITWallonia.be Pass, a free tourist pass available for download since July 1, will expand to Flanders and neighboring countries. Currently, the Pass has over 73,000 users and 600 member operators, but has experienced technical delays in the installation of new features. The Walloon government has approved a budget of 250,000 euros for the Pass’s launch, with an additional 250,000 euros to be allocated in 2023 and 2024. The Pass is designed to be scalable and VISITWallonia is committed to its success as a tool for tourists.
The promotion of the VISITWallonia.be Pass, the Walloon tourist pass that can be downloaded free of charge since July 1, will continue and extend to Flanders and the neighboring countries, indicated the Walloon Minister of Tourism, Valérie De Bue, Monday in committee of the Walloon parliament.
The Pass currently has more than 73,000 users and 600 member operators, of which 490 are fully operational. “These figures are all the more positive as the promotion of the pass has so far mainly focused on the French-speaking Belgian market in order to promote local tourism and to enable the system to find its bearings, both for users and side of the operators”, explained the Minister MR, questioned on the subject by the Socialist deputy Michel Di Mattia.
Some problems encountered
However, this “promising start” is experiencing “some technical delays” in the installation of new features that were announced for the start of the year, admitted Valérie De Bue.
“Improvements are still expected soon, because the application developed by the service provider that won the contract does not fully meet expectations at this stage, particularly in terms of application loading time and for the implementation of loyalty” , she pointed.
Adaptations to be made
“Like any new tool, the Pass requires certain adaptations. This is also why it was designed to be scalable. VISITWallonia is fully invested in this project so that it can achieve its potential as a privileged tool for tourists,” added the Minister.
In addition, “the Walloon government approved, last week, the implementation of the 2023 tranche of the project, i.e. 125,000 euros. The last tranche of 125,000 euros is planned for 2024”, she further detailed.
As a reminder, the Pass has a budget of 500,000 euros, spread over three years as part of the recovery plan. Of this amount, 250,000 euros had been consumed in 2022 for its launch.
In conclusion, while the VISITWallonia.be Pass has had a promising start with over 73,000 users and continued promotion expected in Flanders and neighboring countries, there have been some technical delays and adaptations still required. However, the Walloon Minister of Tourism is fully invested in the project and the government has approved funding for the project through 2024. With continued development and improvements, the Pass has the potential to become a valuable tool for tourists visiting Wallonia.