With its acquisition of Hotel de Glace, Valcartier Vacation Village has announced that the concept founder, Jacques Desbois, and key artisans will stay on board and that the number of jobs will remain the same.
QUEBEC CITY – Valcartier Vacation Village CEO and founder Guy Drouin announced that he is increasing his total private investment to $70 million to add an ice hotel – Hotel de Glace, one of North America's most unique and iconic tourist gems – to his vacation facility crown this winter.
With its acquisition of Hotel de Glace, Valcartier Vacation Village has announced that the concept founder, Jacques Desbois, and key artisans will stay on board and that the number of jobs will remain the same. Mr. Desbois founded Hotel de Glace in 2001. Over the years, this one-of-a-kind property has become a symbol of winter at its best in Canada and Quebec.
The additional five million dollars includes acquisition of Hotel de Glace, its integration to VVV, new equipment, and marketing & promotion.
"Together we will push Hotel de Glace concept even further. It will have the resources and additional services it deserves: restaurants, amenities, a spa, indoor and outdoor activities, and much more. In addition, we will pull out all the stops to open the site earlier than in the past, definitely in time for Christmas season," said Mr. Drouin.
A series of market analyses led Mr. Drouin to conclude that making Hotel de Glace part of a comprehensive tourism package would ensure its long-term viability and profitability, the goal being to protect and better support the creative process of Hotel de Glace artisans.
"Hotel de Glace guests will now be able to enhance their winter wonderland experience of outdoor slides and ice skating trails by escaping to a gigantic, Polynesian-themed 30°C indoor waterpark. By merging our customer bases, Valcartier Vacation Village could bring in up to a third of a million visitors every winter and some 750,000 a year," he added.
Moving Hotel de Glace to VVV site is a logical next step after the announcement of a major construction project to build an immense indoor waterpark, a four-star hotel, a one-of-a-kind spa, and a complete selection of restaurants.
"This will bring our total investment in Valcartier up to $130 million-$60 million to date, $65 million underway, plus the $5 million announced today. As of this December, the Quebec City area will be home to Eastern Canada's largest all-season resort. We will roll out major ad campaigns in Canada and targeted U.S. markets to draw visitors to the Quebec City area, and we will reach out to partners from across the tourism industry to build packages and make them available on Valcartier.com" said Mr. Drouin.
Hotel de Glace will open its doors in December 2016 mere steps from the indoor waterpark, four-star hotel, and spa currently under construction. The major recreation and tourism complex will include an indoor waterpark (with a wave pool, slides, a surf ride, and other attractions), a four-star hotel with 153 suites, a one-of-a-kind spa and a 10,600-sq.-ft. entertainment room offering state-of-the-art gaming experiences.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
