American tourists have simply stopped visiting Montreal and la belle province.
Americans have only been required to present a passport to enter Canada since 2009, a switch that hurts, as over half of all Americans do not even own passports.
Under six percent of all tourism in the province comes from the United States, 88 percent of Quebec tourists are from Quebec.
Quebec welcomed 4.2 million tourists a decade ago. We now struggle to get two million.
This is particularly hard to swallow as Americans are spending more than ever on leisure travel and the 80 cent Canadian dollar makes it a cheap place to visit. (Anywhere is cheap with the strong greenback these days however.)
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| No I'm not planning to visit Montreal |
The tourism drought isn't about our hurt vanity: Quebec now has a staggering tourism deficit of over $3 billion per year, according to stats from 2012.
Want more? Quebec received 900,000 fewer American tourists than it did a decade ago.
The more we spend on tourism bureaucrats and plans, the more tourists stay away. The head of Tourisme Montreal earns - brace yourself now - $400,000 a year. Refund please.
AirBnB listings, which offered a promise of revival by offering lodgings of as little as $15 a night, have been targeted in a misguided attack by authorities.
The decline is ongoing. Our recent Formula One Canadian Grand Prix attracted fewer out-of-towners and the raunchy hallmark excesses have been replaced by tame family-oriented amusements for locals.
The jazz festival barely has any big names, suggesting that the organizers have tossed in the trombone.
So what did we have in Montreal 10, 12 years ago that we don't have today? You might not like the answer.
So what did we have in Montreal 10, 12 years ago that we don't have today? You might not like the answer.
Back then tourist buses filled with 19-year-old Americans from Boston would roll into town as kids saw us as a spot to get hammered legally and stagger into local strip joints.
Montreal was a boozier bawdier, more lawless place, a city known for biker shoot-ups, brazen jaywalkers, sexy serveuse restaurants, cocaine in bars, underaged youth easily being served anywhere.
We had le danger and le desperation and le unpredictability.
We had le danger and le desperation and le unpredictability.
We were an open city of the north, with mayhem on tap, not unlike during the days of prohibition. But then we got safe and boring.
And yes, we had our beloved Expos. The Expos left in 2004, thus taking us off the American map.
According to one study, 11 percent of all fans at Montreal Expos games were from out of the province. The city was mentioned one billion times per year in various publications thanks to the Expos, which had a value of $22 million in free advertising.
And while we are aware that correlation does not imply causation, one would have to be blind not to notice that American tourism here flatlined after the Great American Pastime left town.
So the solutions seem pretty simple: let the booze flow, pension some cops off and get the Expos back.
So the solutions seem pretty simple: let the booze flow, pension some cops off and get the Expos back.