Favorable Currency Exchange And Low Gas Prices Boost Québec Summer Bookings

Rue Sous-Le-Fort, Old Québec. Photo: Tony Webster

Low gas prices and a favorable exchange rate could lead to the busiest summer travel season Québec City has seen in more than a decade, local officials said.

Québec City Mayor Régis Labeaume led a delegation of tourism and hospitality officials to New York City this week to promote Québec, a city that relies heavily on U.S. inbound travelers. Labeaume touted the diverse nature of Québec attractions, including the old walled city, whale watching excursions, and one of the largest music festivals in North America.

Robert Mercure, general manager of the internationally famous Fairmont Le Chateau Frontenac, believes the region’s natural assets and timely currency exchange movements will make summer 2016 “a record-breaking year for us. All the stars are aligned.” Additionally, more Americans have passports than ever before, he said.

“Québec offers great value right now for U.S. travelers,” said Johanne Caron, director of sales and marketing at the Chateaux Laurier, located on Parliament Hill. In spring 2015, U.S. travelers could purchase a Canadian dollar for about 80 U.S. cents. By the summer, the Canadian dollar fell as low as the mid-70s. Now, an American traveler can purchase a Canadian dollar for about 77 cents. Two years ago, the two dollars were fairly even.

Gina Cuglietta is director of sales and marketing at the 571-room Hilton Québec, a AAA-Four Diamond hotel that draws its largest number of guests from Northeast Americans who drive to Canada. Québec is about 400 miles from Boston, and 500 miles from New York City.

“You can visit a European-flavored city, at a discount, just based on the strength of the [U.S.] dollar,” she said.

The Hilton Québec is connected to the Québec City Convention Centre, and is a two-minute walk from Old Québec. This summer, the hotel is offering a variety of promotions, including a Family Fun package that includes breakfast for as low as $269 Canadian. (Hilton’s special new HHonors discount offered direct to its loyalty members lowers that rate to $242 Canadian.)

Mercure said Québec likely is also picking up some bookings from Americans looking for a European experience, but not willing to fly to Europe following recent terrorist events in Belgium and France. Caron at the Chateaux Laurier agreed with that assessment.

Hotels will be at a special premium July 7-17, as Québec hosts the 49^th season of the Festival d’été de Québec. This year, headliners include Sting, Peter Gabriel, Sheryl Crow, Duran Duran, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. There will be approximately 300 performances by 1,000 artists over the 11 days. Tickets are less than $70 U.S.

Québec also has been highly visible this spring on Facebook. The region’s tourism bureau launched a Facebook video ad campaign, “Blind Love,” featuring Long Island, NY, resident Danny Keane. Keane, who is blind, visited Québec last summer, and allowed the tourism bureau to film his experiences. The result is a 3 ½ minute video highlighting the region’s city life, restaurants, outdoor adventures and music scene that has been viewed 2.8 million times already.

The boom in travel to Québec this summer could be topped next year as Canada celebrates its 150^th anniversary. As part of that celebration, the city will host a flotilla of tall ships from all around the world, July 18-23. The ships are racing in the Rendez-Vous 2017 Tall Ships Regatta, which begins in England April 13.

Meanwhile, Aéroport de Québec Inc. recently announced a $277-million expansion to be completed sometime in 2018. The construction will include a new $225-million terminal, four new gates, an expanded food court, upgraded runways, a new parking garage, new roadways, and a new U.S. preclearance center.