Shopaholics, Christmas clearly came early for you.
The Quebec government is allowing stores in some areas around Montreal to stay open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to capitalize on tourism traffic.
Areas set to take advantage of this new allowance include stores in the downtown area, Ile Notre Dame, Old Montreal, the Quartier Latin, Chinatown, the Village and Quartier des spectacles.
Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), bars are not included in this deal.
Stores might be able to start setting their own hours as of next week so get ready to spend that cash after-hours for the next five years.
As expected, some merchants are more excited than others. Few expressed that extending hours will cost them more money and might not bring in any revenue while others expressed excitement at the possibility for tourists and locals to shop later during summer hours.
With tourism dropping every year, this new initiative might just be what we need to place us on the map as a major player in the summer.
But we want to hear from you. What are your thoughts? Do you think this is a positive thing for Montreal? Will it make a difference? Don’t be shy and chime in.
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