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Planning a trip to Montréal this summer? If so, you’ll be in good company according to new statistics from Tourisme Montréal. Visitors are flocking to the city, and it’s not just Americans and Canadians. Huge increases in visitor arrivals are being noted across the board, and in particular Germans, the French and the Chinese are all heading to the “City of Saints.”

"Tourism is one of the most promising industries in Canada,” said Yves Lalumière, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal. “This is especially true for Montréal, as the vibrant city gears up for its 375 anniversary celebrations. Tourisme Montréal will be making the most of this unprecedented momentum to position Montréal at the top of go-to destinations.”

American Visitors

American visitors are taking advantage of their strong dollar and in many cases the lower gas prices, to cross into Québec. From January to May 2016, American arrivals at the Québec border has jumped by 20.9 per cent over the previous year.

In addition to the advantageous economic climate for Americans, Tourisme Montréal is attributing the growth to its new "Montréal Ignites" campaign, which it launched in New York earlier this summer. Using the tagline "Meet the other city that never sleeps," the campaign encouraged millennials from the northwestern U.S. to visit Montréal.

International Markets

From January through May arrivals at all Québec borders have increased by 12.8 per cent for all overseas arrivals. The largest increase comes from German visitation, which is up 16.45 per cent over the previous year. Travellers from the United Kingdom and from Francophone Europe (France, Switzerland and Belgium) have increased 7 per cent and 4.1 per cent, respectively.

A new direct flight between Montréal and Beijing has created a huge surge in Chinese visitors entering Québec, with visitation up 197 per cent over the same period last year.

Business Travellers

Since January, Montréal has hosted nearly 34,000 business and conference travellers, a boost over last year. Several high-profile conferences, business meetings and sporting events, such as Rendez-Vous Canada 2016 and the American Counseling Association's Annual Conference, have contributed to the growth in inbound business travellers, while also helping cast extra international attention on the city.

Airport & Hotels

The Montréal-Trudeau Airport welcomed more than 7.9 million passengers from January through May of this year, an increase of 4.9 per cent over the same period last year.

For the hotel biz, the numbers aren’t quite as rosy. According to latest statistics from the Greater Montréal Hotel Association, occupancy rates in Montréal were near 70 per cent, which reflects a slight increase of 0.3 per cent over last year.

Tourisme Montréal's has said that increased interest in the city is also reflected in the performance of its digital platforms, which have seen a 20 per cent spike in traffic during the first half of the year. Much of the increased traffic has come about due to marketing campaigns targeting the U.S., Ontario and French markets.

New Attractions

As 2017 and Montréal’s 375th anniversary are rapidly approaching, the city is launching an unpresented number of new and innovative programming. A few new attractions include:

Montréal en histoires: First launched in May, the Cité Mémoire project guides visitors through Montréal’s history with a digital app that helps virtually recreate Old Montréal.

Au Sommet Place Ville Marie: An interactive activity where visitors can participate in 11 different themes related to modern-day Montréal.

The Montréal Museum of Fine Arts: The museum launched a Toulouse-Lautrec exhibition and has also opened a new Pavilion for Peace, featuring several works from the Michal et Renata Hornstein collection. M:

McCord Museum: The museum is hosting the Canadian premiere of Eleganza: Italian Fashion from 1945 to Today.

Pointe-à-Callière Museum: The museum, located on Montréal’s physical birthplace, is presenting the Fragments of Humanity – Archaeology of Québec exhibition through January 2017.

For more information, visit www.mtl.org.

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