There has been a lot of talk about overtourism in recent months. The resumption of travel after a long period of pandemic has made us aware of the ecological injuries that tens of millions of visitors cause to attractive cities.
Even if the situation in Montreal has nothing to do with certain French, Italian or Spanish cities, the president and CEO of Tourisme Montréal, Yves Lalumière, observes the situation with great interest.
“Tourism is not going to stop,” he told me in a Montreal brasserie located next to Place d’Armes, where many tourists are gathered. It’s not going to decrease. I even believe that the growth of tourism will continue over the next 20 years. »
The man who took up his position at Tourisme Montréal exactly 10 years ago, however, believes that there is a lot of work to be done with visitors.
We must be aware of the footprint we leave when we arrive in a city or a country.
Yves Lalumière, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal
It is in this spirit that Tourisme Montréal has created a carbon footprint calculator, available since summer 2022 on its website. After answering six questions, we discover the results of our footprint. We are then told how much donation we should leave for research or tree planting.
Overtourism is linked to the capacity of the place being visited. The smaller and more attractive the city, the more likely it is to suffer from excessive numbers of visitors. “You have to prepare yourself to have to book and pay more to have access to popular tourist places,” continues Yves Lalumière. We are already seeing this with cities like Amsterdam and Venice, which have recently adopted measures regarding the presence of ships. »
The large spaces we enjoy in Quebec have an impact on our perception of reception capacity. In a survey commissioned by Tourisme Montréal last spring, we learned that the feeling of “tourismophobia” is lower among Montrealers than among residents of other large cities.
In Montreal, the triangular tourist zone is delimited by Mount Royal Park, the Olympic Park and Jean-Drapeau Park. “That’s really where it’s happening,” says Yves Lalumière. We are trying to expand this territory so that no one feels suffocated by visitors. »
The eternal “coolness” of Montreal
One of the effects of environmental concerns linked to tourism is the decreasing number of small business flights. Even if Montreal has regained tourist activity comparable to that of 2019 over the past year, it owes it to its way of diversifying the reasons for attracting visitors.
“We will not be able to return to the pace of the Toronto-Montreal or Ottawa-Montreal flights of the past,” says Yves Lalumière. These trips are almost no longer part of the policies of large companies. Flights lasting an hour and a half or less are now being considered. »
At Tourisme Montréal, we prefer to focus on the big guys happenings cultural events, such as Metallica shows last summer, or sporting events, such as the World Figure Skating Championships, which will take place next March.
If we choose to hold a meeting in Montreal, we try to link it to an event. As Montreal is a city that offers great diversity, we can work on that. This is how we distinguish ourselves from Toronto. Montreal is a vast playground, I often say.
Yves Lalumière, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal
Yves Lalumière persists in believing that the attractive power of Montreal remains its cultural excitement, the quality of its restaurants and its “Latin spirit”. “That’s what visitors tell us. They love our coolness and our many festivals. We are critical of our city, but deep down, we are lucky and we don’t know it. »
The cone icon
It’s true that Montreal is a city that vibrates. But it must be said, the state of the streets, the dirt on the sidewalks and the countless construction sites are very negative factors. “It’s true that the orange cone has become the icon of Montreal,” recognizes Yves Lalumière. When you go outside, you don’t see any. In Paris or Mexico, there are none. That said, I find that there has been some improvement for some time. »
I would like to be as positive as Yves Lalumière, but it seems to me that nothing has changed, despite the promises of Mayor Valérie Plante. We are experiencing an absolutely staggering pre-winter blitz of work.
In September 2022, Yves Lalumière launched a cry of alarm in The Press. In a letter titled “Pick up!” Our city is not your dumping ground,” he attacked contractors and site managers.
“Delinquents are legion and their carelessness constitutes in my eyes a real affront to our city […] The public domain cannot be used as a storage location for bollards, cones, signs, or even barriers between two construction sites. This practice seriously affects the traffic of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. »
I express my astonishment to Yves Lalumière to see that Tourisme Montréal or the Chamber of Commerce are among the few to shake the apple tree in this direction. “I agree,” he said. We have a beautiful city and it deserves everyone to get together […] Yes, there is work, but we are not obliged to accept negligence. Montreal is an international city, it must have standards which are attractiveness, cleanliness and fluidity. »
The attractive power of winter
The metropolis has therefore regained its tourist vitality. But Yves Lalumière refuses to rest on his laurels. Its next project will be to tackle winter and make it an attractive center for tourists.
I like to tell the English-speaking partners I meet, ‟Montreal is not cold, Montreal is cool”. We are therefore going to invest in a winter strategy. Hotels need to get on board to create magic. The city must be beautiful and lively 12 months a year.
Yves Lalumière, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal
We should see the effects of this approach next winter. An international campaign has been launched in recent days. The slogan is : Winter like no other.
Events like Montréal en Lumière and Igloofest will be used more. We want to attract more families during spring break. Yves Lalumière also wants to improve the Santa Claus parade.
When even Santa Claus and the Star Fairy are taken advantage of, all means are good to make Montreal an attractive city.
Questionnaire without filter
Coffee and me: I don’t drink coffee, but I always start my day with a nice hot chocolate.
On my bedside table: There are photos of my two boys and my granddaughter.
The moment I love Montreal: I love Montreal all year round, but particularly during major events, because they cause collective excitement in the metropolis.
People, dead or alive, that I would like to bring together around my table: The choices are numerous, but as I am a great nostalgic person, I would bring together people who had a significant impact on Montreal and on my life, namely Jean Drapeau, Guy Lafleur and my dad.
Who is Yves Lalumière?
- Originally from Rosemont, he obtained a bachelor’s degree in business administration from UQAM in 1986.
- After being a commercial sales representative at Quebecair, he joined the American Express team, where he worked for 20 years.
- In 2006, he was hired at Transat Distribution Canada as Vice-President, Operations and Business Development. Five years later, he became president of this group.
- In 2013, he was named president and CEO of Tourisme Montréal.