More than 11 million tourists last year in Montreal

Photo Francis Halin

QMI agency

Tuesday, march 6, 2018 07:21

UPDATE
Tuesday, march 6, 2018 07:24

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The increase in the tourism and leisure business has benefited Montreal, which has hosted 11.1 million visitors in 2017, an increase of 5.1% compared to the previous year.

“In addition to being a historic year, 2017 will have been a real springboard for the international outreach of Montréal,” said Yves Lalumière, president and ceo of Tourisme Montréal, who announced these figures on Tuesday.

“Tourism has been among the most profitable sectors of montreal’s economy. Several factors are at the origin of this balance sheet, including the addition of new direct air links, the shares of the selling on the market of congress and the considerable efforts that have been devoted to the promotion of Montréal as a destination”, he added.

In Montreal, tourist expenditures have increased by 9.7 % to reach $ 4 billion in 2017.

A good year for the Quebec

The overseas visitors were much more numerous in Quebec than in 2016, with an increase of 11 %.

According to the Conference Board of Canada, tourism from France, the main market of the metropolis, rose by 9 %. But this is nothing compared to the Chinese whose attendance jumped 33 % in one year. China is positioning itself to become the second-largest overseas markets of Montreal, ahead of the United Kingdom.

Arrivals from Usa also increased by 11.9 %.

Also, the attendance of the mexican market has grown by 50 %, which is believe to Tourisme Montréal that it is the market which offers the best prospects of growth.