Tourisme Montréal Prepares For The Future
It is an interesting time to hold an annual general meeting, but Tourisme Montréal held its AGM last week during the celebrations of Tourism Week in Canada and 77 days after Québec imposed a lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tourism organization’s 2019 annual report showcased the highlights of a year marked by prosperity, along with Tourisme Montréal’s 100th anniversary.
2019 was a record year, strengthening the organization’s standing as an industry leader and leading its chairman of the board, Philippe Sureau to comment: “Tourisme Montréal’s teams did an outstanding job and generated excellent economic results in the leisure tourism, business travel and events sectors. The Board and I would like to thank all of Tourisme Montréal’s employees and management team for their hard work and dedication. Every day, they show how much they care about Montréal.”
In 2019, Montréal attracted 11.1 million tourists who spent more than $4.86 billion in the city.
These record numbers confirm the importance of Tourisme Montréal’s contribution to the local, provincial and national economies, with benefits cascading to various related sectors and businesses.
During the year, Tourisme Montréal also collaborated with several partners to bring 450 conventions, meetings and sports events to Montréal.
These activities generated substantial economic benefits and led to Montréal being named the leading host city in North America for international events and the continent’s top-ranking city for hosting sports events.
What’s To Come?
COVID-19 was certainly a subject of attention during the meeting with Tourisme Montréal sharing the priorities that will inform its actions over the next several months.
Since the beginning of the crisis, Tourisme Montréal has been working closely with the government and its partners to provide important information and assistance to its members and the city’s tourism industry stakeholders. Montréal remains an attractive destination and its popularity is sure to endure beyond the current crisis. The organization is committed to doing everything possible to rekindle Montréal’s vitality and help tourism reclaim the success it enjoyed before the temporary business closure.
Yves Lalumière, president and CEO of Tourisme Montréal, observed that: “As the unifying force behind Montréal’s tourism industry, we recognize, now more than ever, the importance of our role in promoting local initiatives to key decision makers.”
He added: “Our organization has always had ambitious hopes for Montréal and our drive is stronger than ever to help the city emerge from the crisis.”
Go to www.mtl.org for more.
