Race weekend, other events provide boost to Ottawa businesses this weekend
It’s one of the busiest weekends of the year for tourism in Ottawa, with thousands of people travelling to the national capital for a number of events.
The president of the Ottawa-Gatineau Hotel Association says hotels in the area are near capacity this weekend, as Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, the Ottawa Redblacks exhibition game, the Great Glebe Garage Sale and other events attract people to Ottawa.
At the Grand in the Byward Market, tourists lined up Saturday for a spot on the patio.
"Sales are always better during the marathon weekend," said David Mangano, owner of The Grand. "It’s one of our busiest weekends of the year and so our sales go up. It’s very busy and it’s very good."
Mangano says sales are up about 50 per cent on Saturday alone.
"It’s just a hop, skip and a jump to the market, so everybody gathers here after the race," he said. "Of course, they all come down the night before to carb up and eat as well.”
The Grand’s management prepared for the weekend by bringing in extra staff members and choosing a condensed menu for the occasion.
Overall, tens of thousands of dollars is being poured into the local economy during the festivities of the weekend, from restaurant and hotel bookings to shopping dollars.
However, not all businesses are benefiting from the events this weekend. It’s quite the opposite at one flower market stall in the ByWard Market.
"It should be a busy weekend, but it’s not busy at all in terms of sales," said Gabriel O’Brien, who works at the market.
O’Brien said it is likely because tourists don’t typically buy flowers and many local residents are avoiding the traffic jams downtown.
She is hopeful that Sunday will bring back the revenue after a slow start to flower sales this weekend.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.