From rising air passenger volumes to an influx of sporting events and conferences, tourism in Ottawa has bounced back from pandemic lows over the past few years. And across the river, the city’s smaller, outdoorsy neighbour is also reaping the benefits.
Over the past two years, tourist traffic has stabilized in the Outaouais region, which includes the city of Gatineau and other nearby municipalities in the western Quebec region.
Tourisme Outaouais, a non-profit organization that supports economic development and promotes the region as a destination, found that overnight stays increased 8.9 per cent in the first three months of 2025 compared to the previous year.
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“It’s very good news for our region,” CEO Geneviève Latulippe told OBJ on Friday. “(Last summer), we had an increase of 4.5 per cent in overnight stays. If we look at the Quebec provincial average, it increased 2.2 per cent. So we were really up compared to the rest of our province.”
Citing the region’s outdoor attractions such as hiking trails, cycling paths, ski hills and waterways, Latulippe said she sees Outaouais as Ottawa’s “cool little sister” when it comes to tourism. And in the past few years, her organization has increasingly collaborated with Ottawa Tourism to promote the two regions as one big destination.
“We realized that we needed to join forces,” she said. “We are neighbouring and complementary regions, so it’s important to continue working together to showcase our wonderful region in both Canadian and international markets. We show attractive things from the Ottawa side and they show attractive things from our side.”
As a result, she said, the region has seen a bump in traffic alongside Ottawa.
Increased activity at the Ottawa International Airport has been especially noticeable. Though crossborder travel with the United States took a hit, passenger volumes surpassed 400,000 monthly passengers in June for the first time since 2019, with increases in both domestic and international travel.
The Outaouais region especially benefited from an increase in domestic travel, according to Latulippe, who said ongoing trade tensions between Canada and the United States led to an influx of visitors who decided to travel within their own country.
“It’s for sure related to the situation with the United States,” she said. “Because a lot of the visitors came from Quebec. We stayed in Quebec. And (we had) visitors from Canada, who stayed in Canada, and wanted to discover our country. That’s really helped provide good statistics.”
At the same time, carriers such as Porter Airlines, Air Transat and Air Canada have announced new international routes or expansions of existing ones. This winter will see new flights to sun destinations like the Bahamas, Costa Rica and the Cayman Islands, and next May will mark the launch of Ottawa’s third transatlantic route, this time to London Gatwick Airport.
According to Latulippe, one of the organization’s top priorities is to solidify its status as the “official gateway” to Quebec, for both domestic and international travellers.
Tourisme Outaouais has been involved in promoting direct flights to the capital, she said, especially between Ottawa and Europe. She said local hotels have seen a trickle-down effect as a result.
“(The London and Paris flights) have helped us to develop a new market in Europe,” she said. “And when it’s full on (the Ottawa) side (of the river), it overflows onto our side.”
The organization’s efforts are also supported by funding initiatives from the province. For example, she said Tourisme Outaouais received $2 million between 2023 and 2025 to support the development of the region as a winter tourism destination.
The Quebec government is also investing in the region as a destination for business tourism. It recently announced a $1.5-million special budget for the organization to develop the market.
“The government has identified the strong potential for (business tourism) to generate economic benefits in our region,” said Latulippe. “So this will be a big priority for us over the next two years.”
The investment coincides with efforts to construct a new convention centre on the site of the Hotel Casino du Lac-Leamy in Gatineau. Latulippe helped relaunch the project and undertake a feasibility study in 2024, and is now co-chairing its steering committee. The proposed 100,000-square-foot facility is expected to cost $50 million to construct.
“The Casino du Lac-Leamy already has a convention centre, but with this expansion, it will be way bigger,” she said. “We will be able to receive much bigger events. So the objective is to have this new convention centre ready in two years. So it’s really fast.”
