Hopping all the way to sustainable tourism

Dynamic young Brussels startup wants to change the world to green WATCH VIDEO: 

In the small neighborhood of Saint-Gilles in Brussels, a team of dynamic young people have recently started to prepare for their participation at the annual popular festivity celebrating the city of Brussels, the Fête de l’Iris.

They were given a stand by citydev.brussels, an organization aiming at supporting local start-ups. Now the office turned into a brainstorming hub trying to represent best what the team has been working on for the past months.

The team – Matthieu Defrance, Hélène Rebuffat and Roxane Kaempf have created GreenHopping.eu ,. a new-of-a-kind website promoting sustainable tourism in Europe. See interview HERE

People that visit the stand will hear about sustainable Places to stay, Eat & Drink, Things to do, Shopping…  all these topics are designed to show that travelling in a responsible way is easy and a delightful experience.

GreenHopping’s aim is to make people discover the real meaning of sustainable tourism – and where better to start than their home town – it’s not only about travelling abroad! Locals can also become tourists in their hometown by (re)dicovering everything that represents Brussels’ dynamism.

Brussels is a beautiful city and offers plenty of alternatives for better, healthier living. It’s not for nothing that the city has been finalist at the European Green Capital Award for 2015, after Bristol, and ia perfect example of a city willing to become more sustainable.

Despite mobility issues (the city is one of the most congested capitals in Europe), the numerous parks and gardens enable people to escape from the city’s hustle & bustle – finding the time to relax in a stress-less atmosphere.

And, there are also things to do in Brussels that differ from traditional sightseeing. They range from discovering Brussels on a bike or while sight jogging.  Meeting with greeters, locals that will be delighted to guide you through the city, not talking about key dates or historical facts, but rather telling stories based on their personal experiences in the city, a way to understand why so many locals love their city.

Every year, Brussels city centre is home to a large range of activities from free concerts, street entertainment and the public opening of the Brussels Parliament,

Rue du Lombard is a major street, renamed "Village Made in Brussels" for the occasion, and be the spot where GreenHopping will have its stand, together with 10 other stands representative of the capital’s young enterprises.

Each one has its own experiences and has taken a specific path to reach particular goals. But each one of these start-ups is committed to achieve higher standards and environmental improvement.

Watch out for more young social entrepreneurs on the start-up trail!

Valere Tjolle

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