CEO, visit.brussels (Belgium)

Patrick Bontinck was born in 1971. He is Belgian and the father of two children.

After four years of study at the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne (Switzerland), it was only natural that his career should turn towards this sector. From 1998 to 2009, Patrick Bontinck built and opened hotels, as well as managing and taking over hotels, notably for the Martins Hotels group. His varied experience has taken him from business management to hotel development, via marketing and interpersonal relations. His talents as a team motivator and excellent negotiator are widely recognized.

Patrick is an all-round leader who attaches great importance to the respect and development of others. He knows how to motivate his teams towards a common goal, encourages consultation and dialogue between partners, integrates perfectly into the environment in which he operates and plays an active role in it. His sense of empathy enables him to lead negotiations and finalize agreements.

He has been CEO of visit.brussels since 2010, where he implemented the new communications strategy for the Brussels-Capital Region and the City of Brussels. His experience with visit.brussels and the hotel association has given him a thorough grounding in politics and lobbying. He has been heavily involved in the development of new technologies throughout his career. These developments have been recognized internationally, with the visit.brussels website featuring in the top 20 destination websites in the world (and the only city in Europe to do so). He received the "Bruxellois de l'année" award in 2011 and the "Entreprise publique de l'année" award in 2014 for visit.brussels.

Patrick Bontinck is also former Chairman of Brussels Booking Desk and founder of Brussels Hotels Association, Director of the Brussels Chamber of Commerce and Chairman of its Tourism Committee, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of CityDNA (City Destinations Alliance).