Quebec’s Tourist Region - Charlevoix

Charlevoix is a tourist region of Quebec located on the northern shore of the St. Lawrence River, between the Quebec City, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean and North Shore regions. The region covers an area of 6000 km^2[1]. It features a great diversity of landscapes, with mountains, rivers and access to the St. Lawrence River.

Since 1988, the region has been one of the biosphere reserves recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve has set up several projects over the years to protect biodiversity.

Tourism is an important sector of the region's economy. It receives between 700 000 and 1 000 000 tourists every year^[2]. In 2022, as many as 1750 jobs in the region were linked to the tourism industry^[3].

The Charlevoix region is a popular tourist destination for outdoor enthusiasts. The region has a very distinctive terrain shaped by a meteorite that fell 400 million years ago, as well as periods of glaciation. Deep valleys surrounded by mountains offer exceptional landscapes that delight tourists.

The mountains and proximity to the river offer a diverse range of wildlife and plants, which are showcased by the region's two national parks: Parc national des Hautes-Gorges-de-la-Rivières-Malbaie and Parc national des Grands-Jardins.

Visitors can enjoy a variety of different activities, such as:

• hiking

• mountain biking

• skiing

• snowshoeing

• canoeing

• inflatable rafts

• kayaking and much more

Summer or winter, Charlevoix is a perfect destination for tourists who want to indulge in nature or adventure tourism.

The region is also an interesting place for tourists wishing to indulge in cultural tourism, including the municipality of Baie-Saint-Paul and the Musée maritime de Charlevoix.

The Charlevoix tourist region has been designed to accommodate the many tourists who visit each year.

The region has developed a number of infrastructures to meet the accommodation, transportation and food needs of tourists. Charlevoix offers a multitude of accommodation options, including:

• hotels

• chalets

• bed and breakfast

• camping sites

• youth hostels

Many tourists choose to explore the region by car. Route 138 crosses the entire region, running parallel to the river. However, there are several other means of transportation for visiting the region such as:

• public transit

• cycling

• the Train de Charlevoix

• tourist buses

• the ferry to Isle-aux-Coudres

Charlevoix also has a great variety of restaurants, bistros, delicatessens and cafés, featuring produits du terroir (local products).

The region has also been developed to include different tourist routes and facilities and to showcase various attractions.Two national parks allow tourists to enjoy the scenery and recreational activities, while protecting ecosystems.

Nature and landscapes are very important attractions to the Charlevoix region. The presence of tourists and the development of infrastructures to accommodate them threaten these attractions. This threat can take many forms.

Several measures can be put in place to reduce or eliminate these threats. These include:

• Reducing deforestation and protecting deforested land

• Drawing up plans before any work is carried out to enable proper planning by the authorities and reduce the risks of soil contamination, habitat destruction or loss of natural landscapes

• The creation of lookouts to allow observation of marine wildlife along the shoreline

• The introduction of regulations governing the observation of marine wildlife

The housing shortage

As elsewhere in Quebec, Charlevoix is also facing a housing crisis, and tourism is exacerbating this problem.

Affordable housing is already scarce in the region, but it's becoming rarer still due to the growing presence of short-term rental units (Airbnb-type). In concrete terms, this means that there are 181 units in Baie-Saint-Paul, 323 units in Petite-Rivière-Saint-François and 130 units in La Malbaie that could accommodate families or out-of-town workers, but are reserved exclusively for tourists^[9].

What's more, the majority of new constructions are tourist residences. In Petite-Rivière-Saint-François, 80% of construction permits for 2022 are tourist residences^[10]. In the municipality of Les Éboulements, permits for tourist residences more than doubled in 2020-2021.

The labour shortage

The scarcity of affordable housing also worsens the labour shortage, which is particularly acute during the tourist season. To make up for the lack of workers in the region, companies often hire staff from outside. However, the difficulty of housing these workers seriously hampers the development of companies in the region.

A short-term solution has been put in place through the awareness campaign Être accueillant c'est payant. This project encourages Charlevoix residents to host a worker in exchange for additional income, in order to support local businesses.

Cohabitation between residents and tourists

The cohabitation between Charlevoix residents and tourists is sometimes difficult. Each year, the region receives one million tourists for 30 000 inhabitants^[11]. Residents have to deal with traffic jams during the tourist season, illegal camping and litter. These issues were very problematic during the pandemic years of Covid-19. In addition, many residents have to live with very noisy and disruptive tourists.This is the case for residents of Petite-Rivière-Saint-François. The municipality has had to hire security officers to enforce municipal bylaws during busy periods.

The solutions

In its 2023-2027 Strategic Plan, Tourisme Charlevoix aims to develop sustainable tourism. The goal is to establish a form of tourism that responds to the needs of tourists while also meeting environmental needs and the needs of the local population.

That's why, for the first time, the organization is consulting the population of the Charlevoix region to better understand their needs and issues. Among other things, Tourisme Charlevoix would like to make certain tourist infrastructures, which are not used during the off-season, available to residents.

The organization is also looking to promote local businesses and ensure that future tourism projects have a positive impact on the local economy.

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