Montreal is beginning to slowly recover from the pandemic and, for the occasion, the Plante administration has adopted a study that assesses the societal impact of nighttime socio-cultural activities while measuring their economic impact. Its goal ? Boosting the city’s nightlife.
Montreal city 24 hours. Economic report on the socio-cultural night of the metropolis is intended to be the first economic study to take a broad look at cultural and leisure nighttime activities. By “nighttime socio-cultural activities”, the report means social and cultural activities that take place after work, between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m.
Presented Monday by the general manager of Montreal 24/24, Mathieu Grondin, the study aims to provide Montreal with a greater understanding of the value of nocturnal socio-cultural activities. If it seems obvious that nightlife promotes the economic development of the metropolis, the study confirms it: 22% of all tourists in Montreal in 2019 came for its nightlife, which represents 2.44 million visitors. . The latter have also made expenditures amounting to 909 million dollars, indicates the report of 55 pages.
Moreover, the economic impact of Montreal socio-cultural nights amounts to $2.26 billion in direct expenditures, which includes $121 million in tax spinoffs for governments. Most of this result is, unsurprisingly, related to restaurants and bars.
The socio-cultural night trade also represents 33,559 jobs in Montreal, which is equivalent to a payroll of $994 million.
That being said, owners of bars, clubs or restaurants as well as leaders of institutions or large events who were surveyed named among their main challenges the difficulty of organizing night events due to the complexity of the rules governing the consumption of alcohol and the erection of temporary structures on public roads.
The example of other metropolises
To revitalize its nightlife, Montreal would do well to draw inspiration from the practices of other cities that are also involved in initiatives to promote economic leisure activities practiced at night, the study estimates.
Unlike Montreal, cities like Berlin and Amsterdam benefit from measures and policies that structure and frame their nightlife. In particular, these have enabled night tourism to develop rapidly over the past two decades, both economically and culturally and with regard to the reduction of nuisances. In Berlin, for example, a fund of one million euros devoted to soundproofing has been set up to finance renovations aimed at soundproofing nightclubs, in response to fears expressed by the population.
Montreal is no stranger to noise problems. We could cite the example of the bathroom The Tulip showa mythical establishment on avenue Papineau, which last year was the subject of repeated complaints filed by a neighbor, indisposed by the noise.
In this sense, it is recommended that the City of Montreal put in place a framework made up of clear measures and rules inspired by the best practices proven in cities with renowned nightlife, particularly with regard to limiting the noise, closing hours, serving alcoholic beverages or zoning.