Press Release
Montréal and its recreotourism industry:
a unique destination and a driver of our economic growth
Montréal, November 4, 2011 – The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal held its Strategic Forum on the metropolitan region’s recreotourism industry today with the Minister of Tourism and Minister responsible for the Montérégie region, Nicole Ménard, and the Mayor of Montréal, Gérald Tremblay, in attendance. Close to 500 decision makers gathered to discuss the issues facing this important industry for the city.
“In 2010, tourism in Montréal represented $2.1 billion worth of spending by 7.4 million tourists,” said Michel Leblanc, President and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. “There are also 60,000 jobs in Quebec that depend directly on the vitality of the city’s tourism industry. The sector is one of the drivers of Montréal’s economic growth.”
“What emerged from today’s presentations is the impressive depth of the recreotourism offer and a vision of promising development for the industry,” Mr. Leblanc said. “We are confident that we will succeed in creating even more memorable experiences for international tourists and in generating even greater economic benefits for the metropolitan area. The latter has attractions and a community of tourism entrepreneurs that will allow us to innovate, forge ahead and quickly become one of the most attractive destinations in the world.”
“The projects unveiled this morning herald a promising future for the city’s recreotourism industry,” Mr. Leblanc said. “The Montreal Port Authority talked about the tremendous mobilization around the construction of a new maritime terminal. The monorail that will serve Parc Jean-Drapeau by 2017 promises to be a novel experience. The Palais des congrès announced two major events for 2013: the Rendez-vous international de la santé and the first Video World Games, organized by the Just For Laughs Group. These projects demonstrate the vitality of players in this industry.”
“By drawing on the expertise of industry leaders, we have understood that we can take greater advantage of a strong dollar by offering a high-end tourism product and a unique experience,” Michel Leblanc said. “Today’s conference speakers convinced us of the city’s ability to attract tourists and the industry’s potential for development.”
“The report of the Performance Committee of the Quebec Tourism Industry, presented during the Forum by its chair Gilbert Rozon, proposes a number of priority initiatives from now to 2020,” Mr. Leblanc said. “What emerged from discussions today is a bold vision of the metropolitan region’s recreotourism projects. Having the Minister of Tourism and the Mayor of Montréal in attendance showed the desire of actors to come together and speak as one. With the industry’s dynamism and synergy, we will create a high-quality tourism experience, become a high-performance destination and generate wealth.”
The Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal has some 7,000 members. Its primary mission is to represent the interests of the business community of Greater Montréal and to provide individuals, merchants, and businesses of all sizes with a variety of specialized services to help them achieve their full potential in terms of innovation, productivity and competitiveness. The Board of Trade is Quebec’s leading private economic development organization.
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Source:
Geneviève Marsan
Interim Advisor, Media Relations
Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal
Tel.: 514 871-4000, ext. 4015
gmarsan@ccmm.qc.ca