By
Rebecca Gibson |
The government of Québec in Canada has pledged to invest CAD55 to finance new cruise passenger greeting projects at the ports of Québec and Montréal.
While Québec will use the CAD35 million funding to improve its passenger greeting infrastructure, Montréal will leverage the CAD20 million investment to restore both Alexandra Pier and the marine passenger terminal.
Québec and Montréal are two of Canada’s key embarkation and disembarkation ports and it is hoped that the investment will boost the country’s position as an international cruise destination.
“This announcement represents a crucial step in efforts devoted to secure funding and we greatly appreciate the support provided by the government of Québec,” said Tony Boemi, president of Cruise the Saint Lawrence (CSL) and vice president of growth and development at the Port of Montréal. “As our Saint Lawrence ports of call pursue their ambitious goal of providing the best welcome in the world, readers will understand that the cruise experience begins and ends at one or other of our primary gateways to the Saint Lawrence, namely the ports of Québec and Montréal.”
In 2015, Destination Saint Lawrence will welcome more than 275,000 passengers and 100,000 crew members, more than double the number of passengers it handled in 2008. The organisation includes nine ports: Montréal, Trois-Rivières, Québec, Saguenay, Baie-Comeau, Sept-Îles, Havre Saint-Pierre, Gaspésie and the Magdalen Islands.