Brussels vs Bucharest

Brussels leads Bucharest by 1 points on the TRAIL Index, 70 to 69. Brussels grades better on 8 measures, Bucharest on 7; the same 37 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• TRAIL Index: Brussels 70, Bucharest 69
• OECD: Brussels 72, Bucharest 68
• UN Tourism: Brussels 74, Bucharest 73
• UNDRR: Brussels 71, Bucharest 59

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Brussels 63, Bucharest 60
• Economy and jobs: Brussels 88, Bucharest 92
• Climate and hazards: Brussels 80, Bucharest 60
• Water and environment: Brussels 81, Bucharest 75
• Community and housing: Brussels 63, Bucharest 83
• Access and continuity: Brussels 67, Bucharest 63

Where Brussels is stronger

• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 72.7 % average annual occupancy (region figure) (visit.brussels / SQUARE Brussels Convention Centre, 2024). Between 65 and 75: grade 3/4.
• Income per head: 99,407 GDP per capita, USD PPP (region figure) (OECD Regional Statistics via Wikipedia List of OECD regions by GDP (PPP) per capita, 2022). At or above 60,000: grade 4/4.
• Extreme heat days: 0.4 days a year at or above 35°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Tropical nights: 1.6 nights a year with a minimum at or above 20°C (last 5 full years) (ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2021–2025). At or below 10: grade 4/4.
• Wildfire and storm hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4.
• Green space: 54.4 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (region figure) (Bruxelles Environnement, 2019). At or above 40: grade 4/4.
• Tourism crisis and recovery plan: Crisis communication only, ad hoc (Travel Tomorrow & Together Magazine, 2026). Grade 1/4.
• Government effectiveness: 87.7 World Bank WGI percentile rank, 0–100 (country figure) (World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025). At or above 80: grade 4/4.

Where Bucharest is stronger

• Domestic share of nights: 36.1 % of nights by residents of the same country (Direcția Regională de Statistică a Municipiului București (DRS-București / INSSE), Activitatea turistică în Municipiul București (trimestrul III 2025), Q3 2025). Between 35 and 45: grade 3/4.
• Unemployment rate: 0.4 % of the labour force (Direcția Regională de Statistică a Municipiului București, Buletin Statistic Lunar, June 2026). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Water scarcity: low (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 3/4.
• Wastewater safely treated: 98.4 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (region figure) (Institutul Național de Statistică (INSSE), 2025). At or above 95: grade 4/4.
• Tourism intensity: 2 visitor nights per resident per year (Institutul Național de Statistică (INS) / DRSM București, 2025). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Short-let density: 0.5 short-term rental listings per 100 dwellings (AirDNA & Institutul Național de Statistică (INSSE), 2024–2026). Between 0.5 and 1: grade 3/4.
• Travel advisory: 1 stricter of the US and Canadian government advisory for the country, 1 (normal precautions) to 4 (do not travel) (country figure) (US State Department and Government of Canada travel advisories, 2026-09-29). At or below 1: grade 4/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• Belgium: #24 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• Romania: #43 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Brussels in full · Bucharest in full

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