The traditional construction holiday begins this Sunday and will last until August 5. This summer, more Quebecers will travel to Europe, although the majority are vacationing in the province, according to a survey conducted by CAA-Quebec.
According to the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ), nearly 80% of workers and employers in the construction industry will be on leave during this period. Most construction sites will also suspend their activities.
28% of Quebecers take a break from work during the construction holidays, according to a survey of Quebecers’ vacation intentions conducted by CAA-Quebec. New this year: more people will travel to Europe.
In 2022, 65% of vacationers plan to spend their free time in Quebec, compared to 57% this year.
“It’s simply because European destinations are coming back in popularity this year. Also, the proportion of travelers who travel by air has also increased. It was 15% in 2022, it goes to 22% this year, ”explains David Marcille, communications advisor at CAA-Quebec.
While 9% of survey respondents planned to vacation in the United States, 16% anticipated going to a country other than Canada and the United States, which represents an increase from 2022. Of this 16%, 9% wanted to go to Europe.
The Old Continent is recovering from two years of pandemic.
“Then the third year when people might have wanted to go back, there was the conflict in Ukraine which happened when people were booking, so it still put a lot of pressure on travelers to go to Europe. But they are recovering this year, ”recalls David Marcille.
The most popular regions with vacationers staying in Quebec are Gaspésie, followed by Quebec City, then the Eastern Townships and Charlevoix, which are tied, as well as Bas-Saint-Laurent.
However, several climatic events have marked the province in recent months. This is the case with the floods that occurred in the Charlevoix region this spring.
“It is certain that we felt the repercussions of the floods in the few weeks that followed the month of May. We felt, especially in Baie-Saint-Paul, in particular, that it was still quite slow, ”says Mitchell Dion, general manager of Tourisme Charlevoix.
“There are a lot of climatic events happening. There were floods, there were obviously forest fires which affected our region less, but there were, for example, bans on stays in kind ”, which generated many questions from holidaymakers, continues Mr. Dion.
However, Tourisme Charlevoix is optimistic for the rest of the summer season. Despite the flooding, accommodation establishments experienced better occupancy in May this year than in May 2022.
“Under the circumstances, it was better than we thought,” said Mr. Dion. June was a good month. Some tourist companies told us that it was a little slower to start, but they feel that it really ended up taking off. We know that traditionally, in Charlevoix, […] it’s the period with the Festive! which marks the real start of the tourist season. »
The festival, taking place from July 20 to 23, will welcome 40,000 people to Baie-Saint-Paul.
Mitchell Dion points out that with the many thunderstorms and episodes of rain this summer, the region “sometimes experiences last minute cancellations due to the weather”. However, he remains confident that the many tourist attractions in the region as well as the return of foreign tourists will contribute to a good tourist season in Charlevoix.
This dispatch was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta Exchange and The Canadian Press for the news.