Beringen (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Beringen (60,000+ overnight stays/year) aims to attract more business travelers with conference spaces and mining-themed retreats. Alderman Ornella Schreurs highlights projects like a B&B (opening May 1), Mineset museum, be-NATURE, and Kolenspoor bike path.
Beringen is becoming a popular tourist spot, with over 60,000 people staying overnight each year. But the city wants to attract even more visitors, especially business travelers and people who stay for longer periods.
According to Alderman Ornella Schreurs, many people come to Beringen but don’t stay long enough. To change this, Beringen is making improvements for business travelers by creating conference rooms, meeting spaces, and events for companies.
They are also using Beringen’s mining history as a special attraction, offering company retreats that include historical sites and experiences. This is similar to what other places in Europe are doing to attract more visitors and keep them there longer.
How is Beringen expanding tourism with history and nature?
Beringen is also making sure that visitors have good places to stay, especially for longer trips. They are turning an old mineworkers’ house into a fancy bed and breakfast with 7 rooms for up to 20 people. This new place will open on May 1st, 2025.
Officials mentioned that the city also knows they need more hotels because more business and vacation travelers are coming. By improving these things and working with other places in Limburg, Beringen wants to become a popular destination.
Beringen is making a new app that will tell people more about Beringen’s mining past and its important buildings. This app will go along with other apps that already let people walk around and learn about the mining community. They are also making a path in the director’s park where people can pick wild plants. The 2 big pit head frames will have lights on them all the time starting in June 2025.
Beringen is also working on big projects to change old coal washery buildings into something new. The “be-NATURE” project wants to make these old buildings into green spaces, combining old mining buildings with nature. They want to make the coal laundries better by adding plants and trees.
They are also making a museum called Mineset where people can learn about Limburg’s mining history. They are using the big mine buildings to tell the story of coal mining in the area. They finished a bike path called Kolenspoor under the coal washery, which will open soon.
