While American visitors are gradually returning to Quebec, after the restrictions caused by COVID-19, the Minister of Tourism, Caroline Proulx, is on mission in New York, Thursday and Friday, to give another push to this momentum.
Posted at 2:12 p.m.
In an interview on Thursday, the minister said she was giving herself until 2024 to return to the pre-pandemic level of 97.3 million tourists in 2019.
But a long way has already been covered since the low of 34.5 million in 2020, then 45.2 million in 2021. For the first months of 2022 alone, Quebec had recorded 54.3 million.
Nevertheless, “we are giving ourselves another year”, that is until 2024 to return to the level of 2019 “or even exceed it”, affirms Minister Proulx.
For French and the festive side
Among our neighbors to the south, Quebec particularly woos citizens from New England and the eastern United States, which are the two main visitor pools, a few hours away.
And the Minister is keen to continue to develop “four-season tourism”, since our autumns and winters also have their attractions.
She will meet with various industry players in New York, such as the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, the New York City Hospitality Alliance, and representatives from the Business Development Districts.
Why do these American tourists come to Quebec exactly? “They come for the French fact” which is an attraction for them, reports the minister.
They also come for the “festive side” of Quebec — the Quebec Carnival, the International Jazz Festival, the Quebec City Summer Festival, Montreal in Light, Osheaga, for example — then adventure tourism, landscapes and restaurant quality.
For the months of January to August 2022 alone, 860,000 American tourists came to Quebec. “We have made strong progress”, but there is still a long way to go, she said.
She points out that American tourists reside in hotel rooms here, and that the tendency to rent houses or condominiums or to exchange them with another couple or family is mainly a European trend.
And the workforce?
Asked about the effects of labor shortages in the hotel and restaurant industries, in a context where she wants to attract more American tourists, the minister noted that there have been increases in the order of 6 to 12%, which made it possible to bring workers back into the hotel industry.
However, the situation is not the same in the restaurant industry, where recruitment difficulties are still present. But industry players are working on it, assured the minister.
During her mission, Minister Proulx must also be honored for her commitment as a woman in politics, as part of Moves Power Women 2022.