COVID-19 has decimated tourism in Montreal and the industry will take years to recover

MONTREAL -- Tourism Montreal is reporting that the summer of 2020 shattered a multitude of record lows for tourist attendance in the metropolis.

In more than 100 years, never had the organization recorded so many historic lows, whether it be the entries at Quebec borders, passenger traffic at the Montreal airport, the number of tourists, their spending and hotel occupancy rates.

Not surprisingly, the global COVID-19 pandemic is the reason for the poor turnout. 

Compared to the 2019 tourist season, entries into Canada through Quebec's borders have plummeted by 97.8 per cent, and the number of passengers boarding and disembarking at Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau International Airport has fallen by 94.5 per cent. 

From April to June, the average spending from international tourists dropped 95 per cent, according to Tourism Montreal.

From June to September, the occupancy rate of hotels in the Montreal area was only 15 per cent, according to the Association of Hotels of Greater Montreal.

-- this report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2020. 

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  A woman walks past the bars on Crescent street Wednesday, September 30, 2020 in Montreal. The Quebec government has closed all bars and in-room dining as of midnight for the next twenty-eight days.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz