On November 27th the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg hosted a gala dinner at Hotel Le Plaza in Brussels in recognition of the Friends of the Spain Brand and of Spanish Brands in Belgium. This initiative is led by the Leading Brands of Spain Forum and the Office of the High Commissioner for the Spain Brand with the aim of publicly acknowledging certain Belgian people, companies and institutions for their outstanding support and collaboration with Spain and/or Spanish brands within each of their respective professional spheres.
On this occasion the award-winners were:
Roland Cracco
CEO of Belgian company INTERPARKING, one of the leading European groups with over 350,000 parking spaces. He loves Spain, its culture and its geography. Spain is one of the countries where INTERPARKING has invested the most, and the goal is to continue expanding throughout the country.
Bert Dehandschutter
Bert Dehandschutter is a partner at Belgian law firm Racine. He is currently considered one of the most sought after lawyers for Spanish companies trading in Belgium.
Jan de Clerck
Mr De Clerck is a pioneer of foreign tourism for the entire coast of Cádiz. He is currently Chairman of the hotel group Hoteles Andaluces Con Encanto (HACE) in the province of Cádiz. He is also Honorary Consul of Belgium in the province of Cádiz and chairs the Estación Náutica Bahía de Cádiz, which works to promote the Bay of Cádiz as a destination for nautical tourism.
Festival Carolus-Ommegang
Each year this festival commemorates the arrival of the Emperor in Brussels to present his son Philip II as his successor. These combined inititiatives organise events each year based around the figure of the Emperor and his era. Both are part of the European Routes of Emperor Charles V, which are recognised by the European Council and spearheaded by the Academy of Yuste Foundation with the goal of instilling the unifying European spirit of that time.
Hispanistas en Bélgica
The event will acknowledge the work of all Spanish language and literature professors from seven Belgian universities that have academic chairs dedicated to these subjects.
Carmen Van Den Bossche
Carmen Van den Bossche began her career in the tourism sector over 40 years ago in the Van Den Bossche family company Sylvae Tours. She now manages Caractère, a tour operator specialising in charming hotels and experiences that is looking to Spain for the launch of new products targeted at segments and destinations that play a part in achieving the objectives set by Spain’s tourism policy.
Nichette Ghyoot
General Director of the tour operator Transeurope; thanks to her, there is a specific catalogue dedicated to Spain. She also regularly collaborates with Spain’s Department of Tourism in the organisation of activities with travel agencies, showcasing different destinations in Spain, such as Andalusia, Galicia, the Basque Country, and the Canary Islands.
Friends of Spanish brands
Jean Pierre Piret
Friend of Fermax
Louis Culot keukenwerkbladen
Friend of Cosentino
Eric Le Paige
Friend of Andreu World
Jean-Luc Muri
Friend of Lladró
Keep it Quiet
Friend of Freixenet
