Attendance at festivals and tourist attractions in Quebec has increased markedly during the last summer period, but it is still far from the pre-pandemic level. In light of the annual report prepared by Events Attractions Québec, the shortfall is felt above all in urban areas and in the peripheral regions of large centers.
Already less affected in the summer of 2020, the attractions of the Magdalen Islands, Gaspé, Bas-Saint-Laurent and Côte-Nord have already managed to recover 90% of their ridership recorded in 2019. It is in Montreal, Quebec, Laval and the Outaouais that it is hardest to regain the pace before COVID-19, with 54% of the 2019 ridership level – the decline is also very noticeable in the regions. regions of Center-du-Québec, Mauricie, Chaudière-Appalaches, Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean and Charlevoix, which only accounted for 56% of the attendance in 2019.
Nevertheless, the increase is notable compared to 2020 for all regions, 91% of attractions having recorded an increase in ridership, with an average increase of 88.4% in the total number of visits between May and August 2021, this which represents 5.9 million additional visits in 2021 compared to the previous year. Naturally counting on higher reception capacities, it is the major attractions with an operating budget of more than $ 1 million that benefited the most from the reductions in health measures in the summer of 2021; however, they still have to recover more than half of their pre-pandemic traffic.
Visit the Attractions Québec Events website