Two associations with provincial reach in Quebec are uniting their voices to tell the Government of Quebec that local businesses and self-employed workers from the business event sector are at their wit’s end.
Posted at 4:00 p.m.
We represent more than 200 entrepreneurs tired of always following others. We are exhausted to always be among the last to be deconfined, while the business tourism sector (meetings, conventions and exhibitions) is highly secure and represents up to 40% of the overall economic benefits of tourism.
Once again, our entrepreneurs present throughout Quebec were forgotten in the government announcements of January 25.
Our industry remains closed due to a pandemic. But the reality is that the establishments that host business events in Quebec have demonstrated their ability to preserve the health and safety of workers and visitors. Meetings are held in controlled environments and governed by a rigorous health protocol.
So why penalize us?
The risk of contagion in a business event is certainly no higher than that which could occur in a restaurant or a theater. Business events should be considered in the same way as cultural events.
Our sector was one of the first hit by the crisis. Hoteliers, organizers, suppliers and self-employed workers continue to accumulate significant losses, having reached the colossal sum of 1.2 billion dollars1 nowadays. In addition, there is an exodus of expertise and manpower. How many audiovisual technicians, banquet masters and professional set and booth installers will have left the industry when business resumes?
Business meetings and conventions allow establishments in the region to generate 50% to 65% of their annual revenue by offering the advantage of filling the low season in leisure tourism. Our industry supports thousands of families in major centers and everywhere else in Quebec.
The urgency of protecting the spring season
A business event, an exhibition or a congress must be planned weeks or even months in advance. Our industry needs an immediate announcement regarding the reopening schedule. The survival of companies and the return of workers to the sector depend on it. Since the international conventions will not return massively over the next few weeks, the local market is an opportunity to seize. Provided business events are permitted.
The months of March to June represent 36% of our annual revenue. Without predictability, a sum of 240 million dollars is at stake in the very short term.
There are potentially 1,240 local events that feed a large wheel generating economic benefits that are at risk.
It is urgent to act.
To protect our high season which begins in the spring, the government must make announcements no later than February 14, 2022. Otherwise the events scheduled for March, April and May will be canceled or postponed again, which will result in financial losses. considerable.
We insist on the fact that the survival of many event sites and hundreds of suppliers that gravitate in the ecosystem of business meetings and conventions depends on it. A total of 27,000 jobs depend on it, as the current lack of predictability prevents contractors from calling thousands back to work.
* Co-signer: Caroline Lepage, President of the Business Events Industry Group (RIEA)
1. Québec Business Tourism estimate based on the Provincial Business Tourism Diagnostic, RCGT, February 2020