The latest statistics from Tourisme Montréal show that the metropolis welcomed this summer 80% of the visitors who came to the city during the 2019 hot season. Hotels had an occupancy rate of nearly 80% and overall revenues higher than in 2019. The average room rate was also up 18% from 2019. Business conventions are also rebounding: large events saw 60% in-person attendance.
"It was a memorable summer for Montreal tourism. 100% of the festivals came back to life, and the vast majority of attractions were very busy," said Yves Lalumière, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal, in a press release.
“Tourisme Montréal made a major contribution to the city's varied cultural calendar, and visitors did us the honor of reconnecting with tourism."
Montreal tourism expects 9.5 million visitors next year, compared to 8 million in 2022 and 11 million in 2019. Many major congresses are secured for the coming year: the World Congress of Neurology, for example, which expects 8,000 delegates, or the Conference of the Francophone Association for Knowledge which expects 6,000 attendees.
Hosting revenues are also expected to be on the rise, rising by 12% in 2023. "The coming year will bring us some nice surprises. We will achieve this by using the same recipe: a lot of upstream work to secure many conventions, events and festivals," said Yves Lalumière, in a press release.
The number of tourists is expected to increase also due to the new air route opening on June 1, 2023. French Toulouse will be connected 5 times a week to Montreal, the main base of Air Canada.