The results of the first operating year, which were reported in November 1920, were very positive. At the very start of its activities, the Tourist Bureau organized advertising campaigns in many U.S. newspapers. The topics and images conveyed were very varied, but it was interesting to note how much winter was used as a main attraction for a number of years. And it proved very effective. They mainly come from New York but also from Philadelphia and Washington to see our famous hockey games and our ski-jumping pros, and to slide down those breathtaking toboggan trails that are the talk of the town where they live.
Tourists come to Quebec every year in numbers that are equivalent to the province's population.
Thanks to the cold weather, and especially thanks to the snow, winter tourism is looking profitable. Those who come in winter are wealthier, on average, than those we see here in summer. During World War II, the Bureau continued its promotional activities, despite the fact that most means of transportation had been requisitioned by the war services and the hotels were filled due to the housing crisis. Advertising campaigns were launched in Canada and the U.S. and the Bureau managed to attract conventions to our area. In 1944, Montr al's City Council created a department to promote the City's economic and tourist development.