2023: a year of success for business tourism in Montréal  

Montréal, January 17, 2024 – 2023 continued to be a thriving year for business tourism in Montréal, confirming the trends seen in 2022.

The Palais des congrès de Montréal hosted 288 events, for a total of 475 business events in the city. Of these, 224 association conferences were supported by Tourisme Montréal. In all, more than 870,000 visitors and delegates from Canada and around the world flocked to the city, generating substantial economic spinoffs of around 425 million dollars for Montréal and Québec.

Among the most notable gatherings were thirty major conferences, including the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis Annual Congress (5,300 delegates), the International Council of Nurses Global Congress (4,900 delegates) and the InCyber Forum (2,500 delegates).

Montréal: a global hub for association events

This year, Montréal was once again ranked as the top host destination for international association events in North America by the Union of International Associations (UIA) and the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA)¹. The Palais, in line with its reputation, remained far and away the top choice for business tourism and event hosting, drawing in visitors from around the world. Having celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2023, it has devoted years of commitment and innovation in order to promote the city and the province as a whole.

Forward-looking initiatives

The synergy between Tourisme Montréal and the Palais played a key role in building this success.

To start with, sustainability was a major issue for Tourisme Montréal in 2023. Trainings on sustainable event planning were provided, and local products were prioritized in line with its Sustainable Purchasing Policy. Tourisme Montréal and the Palais des congrès also participated in a study on the social impact of business events in Canada.

Additionally, the Palais also expanded its green roof to an impressive 35,000 sq. ft (3,250 m2), helping to make Montréal a greener city and turning it into the world capital for urban agriculture in 2023.

2023 also saw the unveiling of several new installations at the Palais, including the first Tourism Innovation Showcase, developed by MT Lab, which offers a multisensory exploration of the city’s neighbourhoods, providing an immersive experience to visitors.

In collaboration with the Alliance de l’industrie touristique du Québec, the Palais also unveiled two new spaces, emulating a ski resort experience and the Saint Lawrence River. Bridging the gap between business and leisure tourism, these informal meeting spaces allow conference-goers to explore the signature Québec experiences. Two new spaces are in development and will be unveiled in 2024.

A promising outlook

The outlook for 2024 reflects the city’s continued prosperity. Tourisme Montréal has already confirmed 210,000 overnight stays, which will generate 172 million dollars in economic spinoffs for the year’s events. The Palais des congrès already has 170 events on its calendar for 2024. These include several prestigious summits, including the International Symposium on Mathematical Programming (ISMP), July 21-26, the 119th American Sociological Association (ASA) Annual Meeting, August 9-13, and One Young World, September 18-21.

Quotes

2023 proved that our industry is still flourishing, delivering new projects and events that helped promote the Palais des congrès, Montréal and Québec. The dedication of our invaluable partners, as well as the devotion, expertise and enthusiasm of our team, have allowed us to reinvent the event experience, while taking our visitors on a journey through the riches of Québec, with a series of sustainable, cultural experiences that the Palais plans to develop further in 2024!

Emmanuelle Legault, President and CEO of the Palais des congrès de Montréal

I am pleased to see that interest in business events continues to thrive in Montréal. This is a clear indication of the trust that the global industry places in our dynamic, creative and innovative destination. We are delighted to announce that dozens of conferences have already booked venues in Montréal for 2025 and 2026, which reflects the city’s growing appeal”

Yves Lalumière, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal.

1. UIA Rankings: First place in the Americas for hosting international association events (2011 to 2015, 2017 to 2022). ICCA Rankings: First place in North America for hosting the largest number of conferences organized by international associations (2012, 2013, 2016 to 2019, 2021, 2022). ↩︎