Pope visits Quebec: Disappointment for downtown merchants

Frustrated by the roadblocks, citizens of the Greater Quebec City area abandoned their downtown area in time for the Pope’s visit. Many traders also feel that the beautiful and profitable days of July have been wasted.

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Alupa Clarke, general manager of the Hotel Association in the Quebec region, was the first to say this. “Apparently, there are fewer people than we thought. Because on the ground, we’re talking about 100,000 people [hier] And it was empty. »

According to Mr Clarke, hotels have had to deal with cancellations in the past few days. “There may be tourists who are a little afraid that it is too crowded or that there are too many traffic problems. »

Ianni Xenopoulos, co-owner of the Louis-Hébert restaurant on Grande Allée, noted that the conditions were unusual, but the findings were convincing.

“I won’t hide from you that the local clients have prevented them from coming to town […] People, I think put a reserve. »

People were afraid

Julien Paris-Roy, co-owner of restaurant El Cabran, also believes that the many roadblocks have irritated many customers.

“It’s very quiet. I think people are scared because of the traffic. There are a lot of advertisements that say it’s hard to get to town. »

On Wednesday, for the Pope’s walk in the Abraham field, traders planned two strong periods. Finally, by midday the city center was deserted.

“We have two runs. Before the Plains, nothing happened and when it ended up in the Plains, that’s where our waves were,” explained Stéphane Lapointe, manager of the Saint-Hubert restaurant.

Today, for the broadcast of Pope Francis’ Mass in Plains, the El Cabran restaurant decided to bring forward its opening hours.

“We opened for lunches because we told ourselves that if there’s a busy time during the day, it’s for Mass”, laments Julien Paris-Roy on the empty terrace.