More than $5 million in spin-offs for restaurants and over 110,000 customers served
MONTRÉAL, Dec. 1, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - The third edition of MTL à TABLE wrapped up this past November 9, following 11 days of culinary festivities. This year, the event attracted close to 110,000 people and generated revenues of $5 million for all participating restaurants.
Presented by Wines of France, this Tourisme Montréal initiative once again accomplished its mission: to promote dining out during November, generally a quieter month, by giving foodies from Greater Montréal and surrounding areas the chance to enjoy the city's gourmet scene through affordable table d'hôte menus. The event was a resounding success once again, with a record of more than 110,000 clients served!
More than 140 restaurants, nine neighbourhoods
MTL à TABLE witnessed remarkable growth in its clientele over the past three years, as well as a sizeable increase in the number of participating restaurants. For the first edition, Tourisme Montréal collaborated with some one hundred restaurants, primarily located downtown and in Old Montréal. Two years later, more than 140 restaurants in nine neighbourhoods across the city took part in this gourmet extravaganza.
Food-wine pairings: a MTL à TABLE first
New also this year: as part of its association with Wines of France, MTL à TABLE asked restaurateurs to suggest food and wine pairings with different courses of their table d'hôte menu, thereby offering customers an enhanced dining experience and added value for the restaurateur. The $5 million in economic spin-offs, compared with $4 million during the 2013 edition, can be attributed in part to this new feature.
A few statistics on restaurateurs and customers
A survey conducted among participating restaurateurs showed that:
- 76% estimate that MTL à TABLE brought them a new clientele
- 90% would like to participate in the next edition
- new participating restaurateurs experienced a 59% increase in customers over the same period last year
- 94% rated their MTL à TABLE experience as positive or very positive
As to the customers, we also heard back from many people. This is what we learned:
- 60% of MTL à TABLE customers are between 25 and 44 years old
- 53% experienced it for the first time and 62% tried two or more restaurants during the 11 days of festivities
- while most people came from Montréal, 30% of customers hailed from the rest of Québec, Ontario and the United States. Many came here especially for the occasion.
"The success and the need for an event like MTL à TABLE is indisputable. This year once again we witnessed the incredible excitement of foodies from the Greater Montréal region and surrounding areas for the city's gastronomic offer. I was impressed by the incredible number of photos shared on social platforms," said Yves Lalumière, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal. "I would also like to congratulate our Montréal restaurateurs for their energy and enthusiasm in making MTL à TABLE a resounding success year after year!"
Back in 2015
Tourisme Montréal is pleased to announce that a fourth edition of MTL à TABLE has been planned for 2015. The exact dates, however, remain to be confirmed. Until then, foodies can visit the MTL à TABLE Web site to stay up to date and share gourmet discoveries and comments on social media with the hashtag #MTLaTABLE.
MTL à TABLE was made possible thanks to the collaboration of the SAQ, the National Bank MasterCard, ESKA and the Association des restaurateurs du Québec (ARQ).
See you next year!
About MTL à TABLE
MTL à TABLE is an initiative created by Tourisme Montréal in 2012 to celebrate the best of Montréal's gastronomy. Through the event, the organization aims to increase dining out during November thanks to a fixed-price table d'hôte formula that gives foodies from Greater Montréal and surrounding areas the chance to discover the city's rich gourmet offer.
To find out more about MTL à TABLE, visit www.mtlatable.com.
About Tourisme Montréal
Tourisme Montréal is responsible for providing leadership in the concerted efforts of hospitality and promotion in order to position the "Montréal" destination on leisure and business travel markets. It is also responsible for developing Montréal's tourism product in accordance with the ever-changing conditions of the market.
For more information, visit www.tourisme-montreal.org.
SOURCE: Tourisme Montréal
Pascale Gagnon, Tourisme Montréal, Cell.: 514 346-3376, [email protected]
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