Montreal tourism expected to boom as Canada-U.S. border reopens
In March of 2020, tourism in Montreal came to a standstill.
Non-essential travel to and within Canada was put on hold in an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19, with great consequences for Montreal’s hotels and tourist attractions.
With the return of inter-provincial travel, the industry has begun its recovery — but the reopening of the Canada-U.S. border on Aug. 9 is expected to boost things along even more.
“Of course this is good news for the tourism industry in Montreal and Canada in general, because we’ve been waiting for 16 months [as] the borders have been closed,” says Francis Bouchard, a spokesperson for Tourism Montreal.
After the July 19 announcement that the border would reopen in August, the Tourism Montreal website is gaining traction among American users, according to Bouchard.
Montreal has long been a popular travel destination for Americans, especially for states near the Quebec border.
On Monday, Montreal was promoted on the U.S. television program Good Morning America, in a segment about the border’s reopening.
"Americans have to go through a bit of a process to come visit, but once they get here, there is so much to see, especially in Montreal," said Good Morning America reporter Will Reeve on the program.
Strolling through the streets of Old Montreal, he added, “Montreal is unique here in North America — it’s Canada, but it feels like Europe, and it’s pretty close to the U.S.”
A BURST OF BOOKINGS
The growing demand for Montreal tourism is already being reflected in the reservation books, said Bouchard.
"We see a lot of last-minute bookings in Montreal, but already in the coming weeks [and] coming months, it’s piling up."
This sentiment is echoed by Laura Pallotta, vice president of sales and distribution at Marriott Hotels Canada, who says that Marriott hotels across the country have had "more than three times the occupancy on the books for Labour Day relative to Canada Day."
Demand is on the rise for Montreal and Quebec City, as well as resort markets like Mount Tremblant, Mount St. Anne and the Eastern Townships, said Pallotta.
“[We’re] starting to see positive momentum, especially over the last 30 days with consumer sentiment around propensity to travel increasing.”
The same is true for Montreal’s Botanical Gardens, one the city’s iconic tourist attractions. Ticket sales have doubled in the last two days alone, said director Anne Charpentier.
“It's very exciting for us because we hope that it will [continue] augmenting for the next days and weeks, until the rest of the summer, and that we will recover the kind of attendance we had a few years ago."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Explosion at train station leads to discovery of stolen car on Montreal's South Shore: police
Police are investigating after a BMW exploded in the St-Lambert Exo train station parking lot on Montreal's South Shore.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.