This text is part of the special Business Tourism booklet
It’s not just weddings that are being celebrated in cascade after months of postponement: conventions, trade shows, team building meetings and other professional events too. Following more than two years of health restrictions, business tourism is now driven by strong demand.
The $2.5 million invested by the Quebec government as part of the Business Tourism Development Fund (FDTA), launched in December 2021, has breathed new life into the sector. “A hundred businesses have been supported thanks to the FDTA,” says Geneviève Roy, President and CEO of Tourisme Laval, to whom the government has entrusted the management of this fund.
Robust demand
In Laval, nearly one out of two tourists comes for business, alone or to take part in a group event. In 2019, this represented approximately 900,000 people. “The pandemic has affected us greatly,” says Geneviève Roy, who nevertheless observes that demand is picking up. Twenty-two conferences and business events and 40 overnight stays were organized on Laval territory during the summer months (between June and August), which represents almost the same number of overnight stays as in 2019.
The results of a survey conducted last summer by Tourisme Laval among 88 players in the sector in Quebec are also very positive. “Nine out of ten plan to organize at least two events in the next two years. Nearly half of them would hold five or more,” says Mr.me Roy. According to nearly half of survey respondents, who hold a recurring event, these gatherings would have the same number of participants as at the start of the pandemic. “Only a third indicated that this number would drop. We can say that it is still stable,” adds the President and CEO.
In Quebec too, the light is green. “The recovery is very strong. It arrived faster than we thought,” says Gilber Paquette, General Manager of Tourisme d’affaires Québec. The pandemic has had the advantage of attracting attention to business tourism, says the man who believes that it has long been the poor relation of the tourist industry compared to leisure tourism. But the tide has turned: “We feel that strategies are coming to the Ministry of Tourism. There are action plans. »
A labor challenge
The landscape would be idyllic if the labor shortage had not entered most of the province’s economic sectors. “Our product is service. We therefore need labor even more than the others,” points out Geneviève Roy. If they report being affected by this problem, Laval entrepreneurs do not seem to have to put their foot on the brake. “Our activities are running as normal. Services are open and stepping up efforts; this remains an internal challenge,” says the President and CEO of Tourisme Laval.
A survey on the recovery in Quebec published last September by Tourisme d’affaires Québec, on the other hand, reveals an impact of the shortage: only 44% of respondents are operating at maximum capacity due to a lack of manpower. In addition, 67% refuse events due to lack of staff, and almost half have to limit the size of the groups they host. “Some hoteliers tell us, for example, that they don’t welcome groups of more than 100 people. We did not see that before the pandemic, ”underlines Gilber Paquette. In addition, 48% of respondents show lower revenues than 2019 for the period from May to August 2022. “But hoteliers who are able to meet demand have growth of 2.6%”, he specifies.
A shortfall, while demand is exceptional. “All the events postponed for two years are relocated in a very narrow window. The reality is that at the moment, hoteliers are refusing business events, ”says the one for whom the situation should start to normalize in 2023. People are no longer willing to travel for a meeting or a training of two or three hours, estimates Gilber Paquette. These short “lost or almost forever” events could free up space and manpower to accommodate larger groups. As for meals, the buffet formula is in vogue to compensate for the lack of staff, he observes.
The joy of reconnecting
Cabin syndrome (the temptation to withdraw into oneself after confinement) does not seem to affect business travelers. “People are very happy to meet again, says Gilber Paquette, who is already seeing a positive effect of telework on his industry. Many companies are downsizing their premises to accommodate hybrid working. So there is a renewed interest in team meetings, in particular the team-building, which is the fastest growing sector. Once considered a luxury, incentive travel has become a necessity, he says.
“People want to see each other and be there to receive content, interact with participants, but also enjoy the destination,” says Geneviève Roy, who highlights recent major hotel investments in Laval, namely the construction of three new hotels. (the Times Grand Hotel, inaugurated in June 2021, and two Marriotts planned for 2023) and major renovations at the Sheraton.
If visitors travel without fear, it could be useful to reassure the organizers, suggests Gilber Paquette. “The level of risk of an event, for a foreign organizer who would like to come to Quebec, for example, is much higher today due to COVID-19,” he said. Elsewhere, certain funds are offered for managing the financial risk associated with a business event. This form of insurance guaranteeing the income of the organizers could be imported into Quebec, according to Mr. Paquette: “It would be a good approach, especially for players in the associative sector, who finance themselves through their events. »
This special content was produced by the Special Publications team of the To have to, pertaining to marketing. The drafting of To have to did not take part.