Unusually quiet summer for Old Quebec as tourists avoid cities in favour of nature

On a typical July day, rivers of tourists move through the narrow cobblestone streets of Old Quebec City as the historic quarter bustles with street performers and tour buses.

But deprived of its international visitors due to the pandemic, the historic neighbourhood has seen the number of tourists slow to a quiet stream of people who have much more room to themselves.

"There is no one. The tourists are gone," said Denis Côté, the owner of La Boutica. His store in Petit Champlain, a tourist area, specializes in sculptures, art and jewelry.

Côté has seen his daily sales drop by an average of 85 per cent, making him worry about surviving.

"In my head, the season's over, the borders are closed. I'm not counting on the summer," he said.

Parts of the province such as the Gaspé, Charlevoix and Saguenay regions have become magnets for Quebec tourists. Meanwhile, Quebec City, which normally greets 4.6 million tourists each summer, is much quieter than usual.

Jenna Dubé, a spokesperson with the Office du Tourisme de Québec, said Old Quebec is a hard sell to tourists because people are seeking nature and quieter spots.

"They don't want reminders of the pandemic," Dubé said.

These two photos show the difference between a typical summer day on Quebec City's Terrasse Dufferin, compared with July 2020. (Shutterstock/Victoria Emanuelle Forest Briand/CBC) 

Usually, hotel rooms in Old Quebec are filled up with travellers at around 85 to 90 per cent occupancy, Dubé said.

During the month of June, occupancy was between 10 to 15 per cent. Over the construction holiday, it rose to 25 to 30 per cent.

The people visiting these days are mainly people from elsewhere in Quebec, as well as locals.

Thalia Blaise works as a vendor at T-Shirt Petit Champlain, where shirts with the Quebec and Canadian flags embroidered on them usually fly off the shelves all summer.

She usually has to refold the T-shirts five times a day and restock regularly, but lately, her days have been far less busy.

"I don't really like seeing it that calm because I know that my day is probably standing around, sometimes seeing people, being able to say hi to maybe five people during the day instead of always having to work, and having deliveries come in."

Blaise said the store has seen sales drop by 90 per cent, which means employees are getting fewer hours.

"We used to have two to three employees. Now we only need one," she said.

She worries that by the fall, her employer will have to let her go.

Nicolas Lavigne, owner of restaurant Côte-à-Côte in Old Quebec's Lower Town, says he was pleased to see things pick up over the construction holiday.

"It's been a nice surprise, numbers are rising up. We were at approximately 25 per cent of the business that we usually do in June, and we're now at 45 per cent."

To compensate for financial losses during the pandemic, Lavigne has been relying on their food truck, catering services and frozen meals.

"It helps a little bit, but realistically, we'll only start seeing profits in 2021."

The famous Rue des Trésors near the Château Frontenac is home to painters and cartoonists. Every summer, artists crowd the alleyway to display their work.

Carbonneau has been working for the past 40 years on the streets selling art work. This summer, he has barely sold any of the artwork of the five artists he represents.

"I need to take a break, because it's really not good for my mental health to come over here one day and sell nothing."

After weeks being confined in their homes in Laval, Chantal Veillette wanted to show the province to her children for the first time.

They spent a few weeks in the Saguenay and Charlevoix region and decided to stop in Old Quebec for a few hours.

For the Veillette-Sebastianelli family, fewer tourists meant a safer and more enjoyable walk along the narrow streets and cobblestones of Old Quebec.

"We were a bit fed up with staying at home," she said.

"We have a beautiful province. Why not visit it?"