MONTREAL – The ‘Paris of North America’ has been named the best city in which to hold an international event says a 100-year-old non-profit organization based in Brussels.
The Union of International Associations (UIA) ranked Montreal first in its list of top North American destinations for hosting international association events.
The award means that Montreal, as the leading destination in North America, beats out other major cities, including Washington, New York and Boston, not to mention Toronto and Vancouver.
This announcement is good news for Montreal’s tourism industry and for the Palais des congrès de Montréal, the city’s convention centre.
“Montreal’s high ranking is a fitting demonstration of our city’s excellence and our capacity to meet the needs of major international associations in terms of infrastructure, hosting and entertainment, to say nothing of the unique joie de vivre our city is known for,” said Charles Lapointe, the president of Tourisme Montreal.
The award comes during a summer full of student unrest, construction corruption allegations and infrastructure problems.
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After severe weather in late May, the city has been plagued by a spate of sinkholes, mainly in the downtown core – an issue exacerbated by allegations of corruption in dealings with the construction industry.
For the past four months, local, national and international headlines have featured the sometimes violent demonstrations by students protesting against tuition hikes, which were repeatedly cited by local politicians as being disruptive to Montreal’s economy.
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Although tourism figures for June were up from last year, the hotel industry is predicting a less than spectacular summer in terms of bookings.
All this hasn’t stopped the Palais des congrès de Montréal from sharing its pride in the UIA award.
“We are very proud of our ranking,” said Palais des congrès president Marc Tremblay.
“This title, combined with our recent 90% score for customer service quality, indicates that Montréal and the Palais remain among the world’s best-loved destinations.”
The Union of International Associations’ top three desintations included:
1. Montreal
2. Washington
3. New York
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