Tourism@2006, a place for exchanging and meeting privileged professionals and institutions that develop innovative technologies for the tourism sector, is organized this year around three key events.
– A unique competition in Europe launched for start-ups, SMEs, and academics. The candidates’ applications received until next October 15 will be reviewed by a prestigious jury, chaired by Henri Chapdelaine, Director General at the Ministry of Tourism of Quebec, guest of honor along with François Choquette, Director General of Air Canada France, as part of the Year of Canada in France.
This jury is composed of personalities from the industrial, institutional, and tourism sectors at the European level. Among them, Stéphanie Bartels, Project Manager of Eurêka within the EEC; Pierre-Alzon, Director of Last-minute France; Catherine Gabay, Director of the Innovation sector within MEDEF. The jury will award two prizes, each worth 10,000 euros, to the winners of the best innovations in the field of technologies and uses related to tourism, during the closing evening.
– Four conferences will be hosted by internationally recognized experts on the following themes in chronological order: “Success stories” and “Research & Innovations” in the morning, “State of the Art of Technologies” and “New Trends in the Global Tourism Market” in the afternoon.
The first conference will allow visitors to track the evolution of innovative technologies and services developed by the winners of previous editions (Voxinzebox, Coelis, Cybèle Production, Sem les Portes du Mercantour, etc.).
The second event that highlights Research in the Tourism sector will showcase under the aegis of Jacques Spindler, Director of the IAE (University of Nice-Sophia Antipolis), innovative projects of talented university teams. The state of the art of technologies led by Mr. Enrique Nalda, Director of the Travel sector at Google, will address three booming applications: “Multimedia & m-tourism®” by Michel Duponchel, Vice-President Digital Media, IBM Europe; “Mobile e-services” by François IZARN, Director of the Tourism Department at France Télécom; and “Tourism & geolocation”, portable GPS navigation solutions by Frédéric Hougard, Director at ViaMichelin. The profiles, expectations, and new behaviors of consumers will be discussed by an expert in this field: Guy Raffour (Guy Raffour Interactif).
– In parallel, numerous activities organized within the “show room space” will allow visitors to:
Participate in the “Performance Meeting” organized by the regional Association E-Novalis, which brings together Internet professionals. The aim of this activity: to offer free advice and tips to solve any type of individual problem on the Web (content, referencing, domain names, IP monitoring, legal aspects). This interactive workshop will take place in two parts (submission of issues in the morning and concrete responses in the late afternoon).
Discover through the scientific exhibition presenting the projects of doctoral students with original ideas, a potential springboard for industrial partnerships.
Multiply exchanges with different countries (South America, Canada, etc.), present at the heart of the international pavilion.
Experiment the latest technological innovations in Digital Media, RFID, traceability, security, CRM, e-commerce, Mobile Video, UMTS services, geolocation, virtual tours, etc… The nominees of 2006, partners and sponsors: Amadeus, France Telecom, IBM, Coframi will organize permanent demonstrations at their respective stands throughout the day.
Nice Première met with Jacques Gros, the designer of Tourism@, to talk about his “baby” that is entering a promising seventh year of technological innovations.
Nice Première: Jacques Gros, can you introduce us to Tourism@ 2006?
Jacques Gros: Tourism@ 2006 is the 7th edition of this event I created in 2000 – when I was president of Telecom-Valley – in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Nice Cote d’Azur. It is a unique event worldwide due to its positioning at the crossroads of new technologies in the Sophia-Antipolis technopole and the tourism hub of the “French Riviera”. It is a place for privileged exchanges and meetings between tourism professionals and new technologies.
NP: A few words about the International Competition?
JG: This competition, endowed with two grand innovation prizes of 10k euros each, rewards innovation in new technologies applicable to tourism professions and innovation in the uses of these new technologies. We expect the number of submissions to far exceed the sixty submissions from last year and that the number of international submissions (North and South America, Europe) surpasses the ten submissions from 2005.
NP: What will be the lineup of conferences this year?
JG: As every year, the conferences will be led by internationally recognized experts on the “state of the art of technologies” and “new trends in the global tourism market”. The winners of previous editions will testify to the contribution of technologies in their activities: the “success stories”. Finally, for the first time at Tourism@, a “research and innovations” conference will feature presentations by university specialists.
NP: How many exhibitors will be at the Show Room 2006?
JG: The “show-room” space will allow for demonstrations by the main technological players (IBM, Amadeus, France Telecom, Coframi, etc…), an interactive “e-Novalis” workshop, posters of doctoral projects, etc.
The showroom will also include:
An innovation space with 10 to 12 stands reserved for the nominees of the Tourism@ Awards 2006 competition.
An exhibition space with about ten stands of companies mostly specialized in technology for the tourism industry.
NP: What are the new features or particularities of your event and your show?
JG: Several new features are on the program for this edition: academic research is highlighted:
universities, professors, doctoral students, posters…… Moreover, a “performance meeting” organized by the regional association e-novalis will offer concrete responses to the expectations of tourism professionals. Finally, in this year of Canada, the Ambassador of Canada in France sends us the general manager at the Ministry of Tourism of Quebec, Mr. Chapdelaine, who will chair the jury.
NP: It’s the 7th show, a symbolic number. What do you wish for it?
JG: To increasingly gain international prominence and for many tourism professionals to participate.
NP: What is the role of the web in the tourism activity of the Azure and national area?
JG: The Web is taking an increasingly important place, but technologies are evolving more and more rapidly, and exploiting these technologies to the fullest should promote the competitiveness and responsiveness of tourism professions.
NP: What are the new trends and new applications in the current world of tourism?
JG: The trends are towards positioning the tourist at the center of all attention. The evolutions since e-mail, websites, packaging of offers, and the dynamism of offers lead to “cocooning” of the tourist who must receive all the attention of professionals for all aspects: comfort, accommodation, shows, health, finance, security,…
NP: Finally, it is said that the woman is the future of man, the web was the future of tourism, what is the logical sequel?
JG: m-tourism takes into account that the tourist with his mobile phone is the most important person on the planet whom one comes to advise and assist 24/7, anywhere on the globe!
