One person's misfortune makes another person's happiness. While the region's ski resorts are buzzing, restaurateurs are celebrating in Old Quebec, while the mild weather invites tourists and night owls to stroll through the city.
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“I see tourists coming to our restaurants two or three days in a row. We see that they can't do winter sports or go to the ski centers, but for us it's very good,” says Yanick Parent, owner of several establishments, including Bello and La Bûche in Old Quebec and Don Vegan near the port .
This applies, among other things, to the Gasner-Barban family, which originally comes from Besançon in France and met on Thursday on the Grande Allée.
Get off the snowmobile
When the trio, who dreamed of snowmobiling, arrived in Quebec in the last few days, they had to give up. “Instead we went to Old Quebec and ate in restaurants!” laughs father Daniel Gasner, accompanied by his partner Pauline Barban and their little daughter Lola, 4 years old.
Pauline Barban, her partner Daniel Gasner and their little Lola, 4, had to resign themselves to walking around town instead of snowmobiling as they would have liked. Elisa Cloutier
Even the Dufferin Terrace slide was closed on Thursday due to the mild weather, much to the disappointment of tourists.
Multiple reservations
In the region's ski centers, less than half of the slopes are open, but on the Grande Allée the reservation books are overflowing. Most of the bars were almost full for the New Year's Eve party on Sunday.
At L'Atelier and Ophelia we have already recorded over 1,000 reservations for December 31st. “This is extraordinary. “It’s like every Friday evening at Ophelia and we have better Saturdays than in October and November,” says owner Fabio Monti happily. “Certainly the temperature is a positive point for us,” he adds.
The owner of the L'Atelier and Ophelia restaurants on the Grande Allée describes the traffic in his two establishments this holiday season as “extraordinary.” Elisa Cloutier
Several Old Quebec restaurateurs met by Le Journal said they have had great success since the start of the holiday season, while no storm or extreme cold has slowed the arrival of tourists this year.
Slide
And the pace is set to increase in the coming days, with the Toboggan Festival opening in front of the Military Armory on Thursday evening with popular Canadian DJ duo Loud Luxury.
“It will start tonight, that’s for sure. I see it with my reservations and larger orders than usual,” says Stéphane Lapointe, managing director of the St-Hubert restaurant on the Grande Allée.
Bar L'Inox owner Philippe Desrosiers saw a slight increase in his traffic compared to the same period last year. “There are a lot of people in the city, a lot of English-speaking tourists,” he said, adding that the spring weather was very favorable for them.
The owner of the L'Inox bar, Philippe Desrosiers, will serve his customers in his ice bar from Thursday evening. “This year is extraordinary. People can be outside in sneakers!” he says. Elisa Cloutier
“People can walk on the sidewalks, it's not too cold, that brings us more people,” adds Christopher Chouinard, owner of Le Grand Café restaurant.
The same was true for bar owners, including Ozone and Dagobert, where we faced “very heavy” traffic this holiday season.
Also hotels
In Old Quebec, hotels are more than 95% full, points out Alupa Clarke, general manager of the Quebec Region Hotel Association.
“With an average occupancy of 80% for the holiday season, we will most likely achieve the same rate as last year, which was the best occupancy in Canada,” he added.
However, occupancy fell to 70% near holiday centers such as Valcartier, Entourage sur le Lac and Mont-Sainte-Anne.
Slopes in ski centers open
- Charlevoix Massif: 15/53
- Stoneham: 9/43
- Mont-Sainte-Anne: daytime: 12/71; evening: 6/71
- The season: December 32nd
Ice rinks are opening in Quebec
- Plains of Abraham Ice Ring
- Carré d'Youville ice rink
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