After an August that saw Belgian hotels pulling themselves back up (+2.5% RevPAR) while their Dutch counterpart dropped by 4.7%, the month of September shows inverse results: - 4.6% for Belgium and + 7.2% for the Netherlands. Generally speaking the hotel industry in the Benelux made a rocky recovery attesting to the results of the region’s capitals. “The economy is not doing radically better, but it is improving little by little,” explains Paula Bakker, director of sales for Golden Tulip & Tulip Inn Amsterdam Art. Highly dependent on international clientele, the Dutch city suffered throughout the year 2003 with an important drop in American (-9%) and Japanese (-24%) clientele. The traditional clientele, German, French, English, also proved to be hesitant. Preliminary results on the first month in 2004 are a little more encouraging with a drop by 1.8% in the RevPAR. Americans are making a return, but at a slower pace than the Japanese (+5% versus + 15%). The French and English are also back.Luxembourg’s hotel business is also dependent on business from European institutions, but undoubtedly to a lesser extent. In any case, it does not seem to have benefited from the recent expansion. “While the number of delegations has increased, there are fewer participants and the council meetings are shorter,” remarks Noël de Munck, Director of the hotel Hilton Luxembourg. Much clientele is not returning to Luxembourg and the city had a difficult quarter. Clientele related to the film industry in particular has dropped. “The power fiscal incentives have in influencing producers to film in Luxembourg is dwindling in light of Rumanian and Czech competition.” Furthermore, the city suffers from difficult accessibility and a lack of infrastructures: a hotel supply that is too limited to accommodate major manifestations, no real conference centre and reception structures that are either...