Quebec City tops tourist destinations in Canada, Montreal third

Quebec City took the number one spot as Canada’s top tourist destination over the holiday season with Montreal coming in third.

Data from Destination Quebec City shows that between Dec. 22 to 28, hotel occupancy was at 77 per cent.

“2019 has always been our benchmark as the best year before the pandemic, and we're about 15 per cent higher than 2019 and 11 per cent higher than last year,” said Destination Quebec City general manager Robert Mercure.

Mercure credits ad campaigns targeting the U.S., the low Canadian dollar and getting recognized in Vogue and Forbes magazines along with CNN as reasons for the provincial capital’s success.

“All three of them identified us as one of the top winter destinations in the world,” said Mercure.

Vancouver was second with an occupancy rate of 63 per cent and Montreal came third at 54 per cent.

“During the holiday season, ending in November and definitely into the beginning parts of December, we've seen a lot of a lot of tourism,” said Burgundy Lion Group co-founder Paul Desbaillets. “When the U.S. dollar is high, you get a lot more American tourists. It's as simple and the same thing with the Euro or the pound sterling.”

Noor Souvenirs owner Mohamed Ghodbane said he would like to see more winter activities in the area to boost tourism during the colder months.

“So something has to happen to attract people to keep them in Montreal,” he said.

Mercure said tourists who visit Quebec City tend to stop in Montreal as well.

“Well, I think both cities worked very closely together in synergy,” he said.