Passeport MTL culture: Your ticket to unforgettable culture in Montréal

MONTRÉAL, Sept. 10, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Do you love the arts? There's a new way to discover Montréal's originality and creativity: Passeport MTL culture. This new product is presented by Tourisme Montréal, Quebec's Ministry of Culture and Communications, the City of Montréal and some 31 participating cultural organizations. The passport consists of a card that gives you unlimited access to the city's hottest cultural activities and performances, and to public transit throughout the Greater Montréal area.

The new product was made possible thanks to a collective effort from stakeholders from Montréal's cultural scene as well as innovative technology from local culture hub La Vitrine. This technology allows users to check what's happening in real time and book tickets by purchasing a 24-hour or 72-hour passport for $99 and $195 respectively.

"I applaud Montréal's cultural leaders for their initiative and willingness to join forces with this very exciting project for the city. It confirms Montréal's status as an international cultural destination," said Manon Gauthier, who is responsible for culture, heritage, design, Space for Life and the status of women at the City of Montréal. 

"With this new tourist product, our arts and culture community has once again come up with an innovative solution. The new passport aims to expand the client base for our arts and culture organizations while maximizing economic returns for the city. Montréal is an unmatched hotbed of creativity in North America and local activities and shows represent excellent economic potential for the area," said Yves Lalumière, President and CEO of Tourisme Montréal.

"We're delivering on our promises! After introducing Je vois Mtl less than a year ago, the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) is pleased to present this passport to arts and culture. With 31 cultural organizations on board, this project will allow us to reach new tourist audiences. The MMFA alone generates $39 million in tourist dollars, but together we can do even better, since our institutions, museums and shows are always accessible, come rain or shine! With the summer festivals behind us, the real culture season has begun—and the September to May cultural program brings massive business potential along with it," stated Nathalie Bondil, Director and Chief Curator at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts.

Developed in the wake of Je vois Mtl, Passeport MTL culture is an initiative of Montréal's arts and culture scene. It was designed to promote the city's creative talent and showcase the best of local culture year-round. Effective immediately, tourists can plan their stay and purchase their cultural passports online via La Vitrine, Greater Montréal's cultural hub.

Tourisme Montréal is about to kick-off an ad campaign in Québec and Ontario with "Montréal Shows Off" as its theme. It is scheduled to run from September 10 to October 10, 2015.

For more information about the terms of use, visit www.passeportmtlculture.com.

About Tourisme Montréal
Tourisme Montréal is responsible for providing leadership in the concerted efforts of hospitality and promotion in order to position the "Montréal" destination on leisure and business travel markets. It is also responsible for developing Montréal's tourism product in accordance with the ever-changing conditions of the market. For more information, visit www.mtl.org.

About La Vitrine
Located at 2-22, the Quartier des spectacles' cultural lighthouse, La Vitrine is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and selling tickets to all cultural and artistic activities. La Vitrine's website features Greater Montreal's arts and culture calendar and a transactional section with both regular and reduced-fare tickets. Recognized as Montréal's leading cultural promotor, La Vitrine offers visitors a cultural immersion at its headquarters in downtown Montréal with installations from Moment Factory that symbolize the city's talent and creativity.

The organization will soon be launching a new portal that covers the entire province of Québec. In doing so, it expands its scope to become the "cultural window" on the whole of the province. This unique cultural calendar is the result of various agreements struck with RIDEAU, Tourisme Outaouais, Tourisme Cantons-de-l'Est, Tourisme Montérégie, Tourisme Laval, the City of Montréal, several cultural broadcasters and now the City of Québec. This new version of La Vitrine will have the same mission as the Montréal version, but only on a provincial scale. LaVitrine.com, your culture hub.

Passeport MTL culture gives you access to cultural events presented by the following institutions:

• BanQ - Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
• Centaur Theatre Company
• Centre d'exposition de l'Université de Montréal
• PHI Centre
• DHC/ART Fondation for Contemporary Art
• Théâtre Jean Duceppe
• Écomusée du fier monde
• Espace Go
• Festival International de la littérature
• Igloofest
• Le Balcon
• Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal
• Maison Saint-Gabriel
• Maison Théâtre
• Montréal Complètement Cirque (for 2016)
• Musée de Lachine
• Montréal Museum of Fine Arts
• Montréal en lumière
• McCord Museum
• Opéra de Montréal
• Orchestre de chambre I musici de Montréal
• Orchestre métropolitain
• Orchestre symphonique de Montréal
• Place-des-Arts
• Pointe-à-Callière, Montréal Museum of Archaeology and History
• Québec Cinéma
• Bourgie Hall
• Société des arts technologiques
• Théâtre du Nouveau Monde
• Tohu
• Arsenal. Art Contemporain

SOURCE Tourisme Montréal

For further information: Andrée-Anne Pelletier, Manager - Corporate Public Relations, Tourisme Montréal, 514-844-3344, [e-mail]