Tourism Montreal says summer traffic shows COVID-19 slump over

The tourism promotion organization Tourism Montreal says the slump in the industry caused by the COVID-19 crisis is over.

The latest statistics reported by Tourism Montreal on Monday confirmed that the city welcomed 80 per cent of the number of visitors that arrived during the same period in 2019.

All the summer festivals returned this year in the metropolis.

The organization adds that Montreal's hotels posted an occupancy rate of nearly 80 per cent last summer and overall revenues higher than in 2019. The average price of a hotel room climbed 18 per cent compared to 2019.

Business conventions also rebounded. Major events saw a 60 per cent in-person attendance rate, despite border measures for international travellers that Tourism Montreal called a major irritant.

On Oct. 1, all federal screening, quarantine and isolation requirements ended.

In addition, Tourism Montreal is maintaining its international advertising campaigns.

The organization reports that it has over five million visits to its website to date, two million more than in 2019.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 10, 2022.