Economy

As director of communications for Ottawa Tourism, Jantine Van Kregten spent 20 years showing off the best of the capital city.

In an email to OBJ on Monday, Group Germain’s vice-president of operations, Hugo Germain, said the Quebec-based hotel chain is still working with the Ottawa International Airport Authority on a proposal to build a 180-room Alt Hotel that would be attached to the airport terminal.

While Ottawa’s new plan to improve nightlife aims to bring fun back to the city, its proposal to reduce red tape could prove challenging.

Ottawa's airport authority is projecting that 5.6 million passengers will use the city's international terminal by 2030, up from three million last year.

With union members still out on picket lines in full force, Bar Robo owner Scott May says he’s currently enjoying “far and away” the busiest week at his downtown coffee, cocktail and live music venue since the pandemic began more than three years ago.

A week into the federal public service strike, the owner of a small tourism company on Sparks Street says the picketing currently underway downtown will be “devastating” to his business if it continues.

Each year for the past 15 years, the team behind Burovision has come together to give back to the community through its Get Inspired! program, designed to refresh the interiors of schools and community centres.  

Despite only having been in Canada for four years, Soheil Ataie is already a familiar face among the region’s entrepreneurship incubator programs. 

Spending on tourism continued to grow last year as travellers returned to planes and patios, but it remained well below pre-pandemic levels, according to Statistics Canada.