Unveiling of the Plan de développement du tourisme culturel à Montréal

MONTREAL, Oct. 12 /CNW Telbec/ - Tourisme Montréal unveils today its new Plan de développement du tourisme culturel à Montréal during an event jointly arranged with Culture Montréal. The Plan is the result of reflection undertaken over the span of several months with the Montréal cultural and tourism milieu, and of a close collaboration with the City of Montréal and the ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine.

This Plan is, in essence, a "roadmap" which considers prior experience to determine the main challenges that Montréal must face in the coming years in order to remain competitive. To do this, a series of concrete actions have been proposed, of which some are already in progress. Examples include the work that has begun to highlight public art and modern art works; the reinforcement of the unifying role of La Vitrine; the reaffirming of the necessity to execute certain existing projects; and the carrying out of an analysis for developing tourism in the various cultural districts of Montréal.

"Cultural tourism has become an integral part of urban tourism, which means Montréal must maintain the position it has attained as a cultural city in North America," states the Honourable Charles Lapointe, president and CEO of Tourisme Montréal. "In this respect, we continue to address certain matters related to the quality of our visitors' overall experience, improving the offer, information regarding cultural activities, and the synergy among the various tourism and cultural players. Great strides have already been made, but we must continue our efforts," concludes Charles Lapointe.

This work began about 15 years ago, but since 2008, a partnership binding Tourisme Montréal, the City of Montréal and the Ministère is officially recognized under the Entente sur le développement culturel de Montréal. Within this scope, the City of Montréal and the Ministère both finance Tourisme Montréal with a view to adopting a durable strategy to adequately plan the development of cultural tourism. It is noteworthy to mention that the 2007-2017 Action Plan of Montréal, Cultural Metropolis aims to develop cultural tourism in order to promote Montréal throughout Canada and abroad.

This partnership has made it possible to pursue concerted efforts at Tourisme Montréal, and therefore consolidate Montréal's position as a favourite cultural destination in North America.

To view the document (in French): http://docs.tourisme-montreal.org/doc/tourisme-montreal/planstrat_vp_final/2010080201/

Tourisme Montréal is responsible for providing leadership in the concerted efforts of hospitality and promotion in order to position the 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 further information:

Pierre Bellerose
Vice President
Public Relations, Product Research and Development
Tourisme Montréal
514 844-2404
[email protected]