TOURISM AND BUSINESS EVENTS. Having the best product is not always enough. The target clientele still needs to know that it exists and that it can suit them. A rule from which players in the business tourism industry in Quebec are no exception.
Many people know the Base Camp in Tremblant. Finally… knew. The 10,500 square foot conference space at the highest ski resort in the Laurentians has just adopted a brand new name: Tremblant Conference Chalet. This is the second change of identity for the infrastructure which celebrates its 26th anniversary in 2026.
Launched in 2016, the name Base Camp was chosen to evoke the camps at the foot of high peaks where mountaineers and other explorers gather before starting their expedition. “However, the marketing plan to explain the concept never came to fruition,” explains Valérie Roy, director of Chalet des congrès Tremblant. Many companies in the markets we target thought we were a summer camp, or even a dormitory. ”
The manager also wishes to use the new brand strategy to further attract businesses of all sizes located between Mirabel and Mont-Laurier. A local business clientele who, until now, have been rather discreet towards Tremblant.
“ We are known for hosting events of up to 1,000 people, our largest room being able to accommodate up to 600 people in a cocktail format,” she says. But we also have around ten indoor and outdoor spaces which are suitable for smaller meetings. We are therefore going to use the new campaign to make them known to local businesses. »
According to the director, this strategy should result in the arrival of more than 40,000 people in the next 12 months, an increase of 10% of the current clientele.
An expanded clientele
After displaying the flagship brand of Conrad Hilton’s company for 25 years, the Hilton Montreal/Laval hotel has changed status. In addition to becoming the Ômage hotel, Montreal/Laval, the property of the Grand Château Hotel Group (GHGC) with 190 rooms, including 42 suites, has joined the ranks of the Tribute Portfolio collection of boutique hotels under the Marriott banner.
Accompanied by an investment of 19 million dollars (M$), this renewal already seems profitable. “Since the hotel reopened in mid-February, we have received between five and six requests per week for quotes or tours of the establishment from small groups looking for this type of, more intimate environment for their business event,” says its general director, Annie-Ève Frigon.
The manager, who until recently held the position of vice-president of sales and marketing at the Sheraton Laval (another GHGC hotel property), observes a wind of change. “Small groups, who didn’t find their place within the vast complex, are more inclined to book at the new boutique hotel than they were with the old banner. We regularly lost this clientele to an establishment in downtown Montreal,” she says.
Thanks to its new signature which is inspired by the territory and history of Île Jésus, the Ômage hotel should record a 10% increase in business customers by the end of the year, says its CEO.
In addition to its new positioning as a boutique hotel, the new member of the Tribute Portfolio collection joins the Marriott Bonvoy hotel loyalty program, which has more than 270 million customers worldwide, a significant element.
Grouping: l‘Québec Tourism Industry Alliance recovers business tourism’
After the disappearance of Tourisme d’affaires Québec in December 2024, the sector did not remain long without a coordination and development body. This is an industry for which the Quebec government is targeting spinoffs of more than $2.5 billion by 2026-2027.
For several months, the Alliance of the Quebec tourism industry, which already has the mandate to unite and promote the players in leisure tourism in Quebec, has initiated a collective reflection in order to determine the role it could play in business tourism.
Decompartmentalize
Its CEO, Geneviève Cantin, wishes to accentuate the collaboration, agility and complementarity of the players who contribute to the success of this sector. “We want to decompartmentalize this industry often associated with hotels and convention centers,†she says. Business tourism also includes caterers, florists, audiovisual professionals, and so on. »
Last February, the Alliance was officially mandated by Quebec to structure business tourism here. With an amount of $1 million, this mandate is for three years.Â
Around 10% of the envelope has already allowed the Alliance to join the vast study launched jointly by Destination Canada and Meeting Mean Business Canada (MMBC) regarding the economic impact of business events in Canada, points out the CEO, who has just been appointed member of the board of directors of the MMBC. “This is a first for the Quebec business tourism industry,” she emphasizes.
