The Belgian beer museum had only half the number of visitors it expected
2024-12-28
On December 25, 2023, the Belgian Beer Museum officially opened in Brussels, dedicated to displaying Belgium's unique brewing culture. It is part of a $94 million project to restore the former Brussels Stock Exchange. It was expected that 360,000 visitors would visit in the first year, but that number proved to be only half that. Belgian brewers say this illustrates the crisis facing the country's beer industry.
EOE Belgian beer sales are falling and exports to foreign markets are also declining, even though Belgium is known for its brewing tradition and 70% is export-oriented. The Elargay brewery closed because it could not bear the pressure. As a result, according to the Belgian Brewers' industry association, beer sales in 2023 in Belgium fell by 5.8% and exports by 7.5%.