Stakes are high to make festival season a success this summer, says a business leader
A leader in Montreal's business community says certain factors threaten to throw a wrench into this year's festival season.
Chiefly among them is a labour shortage.
"It's really hard to maintain, especially for festivals, those very highly skilled technicians that make all that magic come true for festivalgoers," said Glenn Castanheira, executive director of Downtown Montreal Merchants' Association on Saturday.
Castanheira says all hands must be on deck, especially as the city looks to bounce back from the pandemic.
He says 2019 was a record year for tourism, with over 11 million tourists. In 2022, there were 8.5 million. This year, the city is on track to surpass its pre-pandemic record by welcoming 9.5 million tourists.
"Seeing that we have the same level of occupancy in hotels, yet we have more hotels today than we had in 2019, which indicates that were having more people in our city," he said, citing the return of international tourists, who were previously kept out by covid travel restrictions.
Ensuring the influx of tourists have a good time when they arrive is paramount, says Castanheira. And he says the stakes are even higher this year because of inflation.
"We know that people are making financial sacrifices. That discretionary expense of choosing to come to downtown Montreal for their vacation and time off is something we don't take lightly," he said.
Castanheira is also encouraging Montrealers to be a tourist in their own city this summer.
"People are crossing oceans and continents to discover our city. You can cross a river and check it out for yourself."
FESTIVAL SNAPSHOT
Montreal's jam-packed schedule for summer festivals is well underway. Here is a partial list of what you can expect:
- Francos de Montreal ( June 9 to 17)
- MURAL Festival (June 8 to 18)
- St-Ambroise Montreal Fringe Festival (May 29 to June 18)
- Formula 1 Grand Prix (June 16 to 18)
- Montreal International Jazz Festival (June 29 to July 8)
- Festival sur le Canal (June 16 to 18)
- L'International des Feux Loto-Quebec-Fireworks festival (Several dates between June 29 and August 10)
- Just for Laughs (July 14 to 29)
- Osheaga Music and Arts Festival (August 4 to 6)
- Montreal Pride (August 3 to 13)
- LASSO (August 18 to 19)
-With files from CTV's Amanda Kline
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza's vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife's edge.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
Highlights from the 2024 Met Gala exhibit: Sleeping Beauty would wake up for these gowns
Sure, she was a royal princess and all. But there’s no way Sleeping Beauty — either before or after her nap — ever had quite the fabulous wardrobe that’s been assembled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.
Putin begins his fifth term as president, more in control of Russia than ever
Vladimir Putin began his fifth term Tuesday as Russian leader at a glittering Kremlin inauguration, setting out on another six years in office after destroying his political opponents, launching a devastating war in Ukraine and concentrating all power in his hands.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.