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The Palais des congrès de Montréal put together the very first Convention Industry Round Table ever held in Montréal. The December 11 event was attended by executive directors and sales and marketing managers from member hotels of the Hotel Association of Greater Montréal (AHGM), as well as management personnel from Tourisme Montréal and the Palais des congrès de Montréal.
These representatives on the frontlines of the business tourism economy shared data and devised new avenues of cooperation aimed at enabling Montréal to continue growing by hosting major conventions.
“Given the increased competition in the convention market, it has become essential to work closely with all industry partners to attract more and more major events. These conventions generate significant economic and intellectual benefits for the city, and Québec, and help expand the reach of the key sectors of our economy and our universities,” explained Robert Mercure, President and CEO of the Palais des congrès de Montréal. “The quality of Montréal’s hotel and hospitality offering, the excellent reputation of the tourism office, combined with the quality of the Palais’ offering and customer service, constitute incredible assets for Montréal, and we firmly intend to continue moving forward with our development efforts,” he added.
After learning extensively about the Palais’ business model and the statistics related to attracting international, American and Canadian conventions, the participants were able to express their ideas and thoughts on promoting Montréal and further upping its appeal in the convention market.
“We are glad the industry reached out to the Montréal hotel and hospitality community for its expertise and that our input had a role to play in the drafting of the strategies designed to make Montréal a business destination,” said a delighted Eve Paré, CEO of the Hotel Association of Greater Montréal. “Working together is paramount if we want to ensure the city remains competitive internationally,” she continued.
“Tourisme Montréal is proud to have collaborated on this first round table and is committed to its success. The meeting showed that transparency and cooperation are excellent qualities tourism partners can rally around. We all have a part to play in elevating Montréal and its convention centre to the top of the list for hosting major conventions and events,” stated Mylène Gagnon, Vice-President of Sales and Convention Services at Tourisme Montréal.
Introducing the new Montréal Business Destination Taskforce
In the spirit of fostering coordinated joint efforts and ensuring the rollout of tangible actions to stimulate business tourism in the city, a new taskforce — Montréal Business Destination — was also created. Made up of representatives from the city’s largest hotels and industry players such as the Palais des congrès de Montréal and Tourisme Montréal, this taskforce will meet quarterly and serve as a united front promoting Montréal as “the” host city for major events.
A meeting that reflects the new vision of the Palais
Based on a winning formula that facilitates the sharing of information, the Convention Industry Round Table promises to become an industry staple. This desire to work closely with the Montréal community mirrors Robert Mercure’s new vision for the Palais of tomorrow, which the participants were briefed on during the event. Determined to help drive the Montréal brand of creativity, the Palais des congrès is focused on being a showcase for local scientists and creatives, while also empowering Montréalers to reclaim their convention centre. The new President and CEO and his team are eagerly working on developing new avenues that will help position the Palais at the very heart of efforts to create the convention centre of the future.