Student protests: Tour operators try to reassure their European customers

The ongoing nighttime student protests, which have spread across Quebec, are worrying European clients planning to travel to Montreal this summer. Tour operators are inundated with calls and emails.

A major agent of the Transat group, Jonview, which organizes visits to Canada for 240,000 Europeans each year, does not seem to consider the problem a major concern. Nevertheless, the agency is following the student protests very closely. At Go West, another tour operator, there is concern about the number of questions asked by clients planning to attend the various summer festivals in Montreal (Jazz Festival, World Film Festival, Francofolies, Just for Laughs Festival).

On the other hand, at Global Express Tours, a Massachusetts-based agency that describes itself online as "New England's number one Montreal tour operator," the situation doesn't seem to be affecting American travelers who have booked their spots in Quebec for this summer. The group takes about 3,000 people to Quebec each year. "After all," a spokesperson for the tour operator explains, "the nighttime demonstration only takes place in certain streets and neighborhoods of the city."

At Géotours, travel planning for Montreal continues as usual. More hesitant clients are offered late afternoon departures from Montreal and overnight transfers to the Laurentians. This plan B is apparently appealing to many.