Olympic Park recently became MT Lab’s 12th partner. Its arrival sends a signal to innovative Quebec companies that a new space for experimentation is being added, this time to “create human-scale experiences in a symbolic, oversized location”.
The Olympic Park is thus positioning itself as a hub of innovation in this field, with definite spin-offs for the whole of Quebec. And for the MT Lab, the addition of a new partner in the midst of a pandemic sends out a strong signal.
Already, Montreal has been named in the Canadian Global Sport Impact Index (ISG Canada) as the best Canadian city to host sporting events in 2018 and 2019. Montreal’s Olympic prestige is already attracting the international sporting world. In March, the MT Lab co-organized with Business France “pitches” of innovative solutions from several French companies specializing in sports, including Digi-Sports, which offers a “digital wall” (on which a ball is thrown that activates lighted panels) with the aim of engaging visitors.
Trends in innovation
Over the coming weeks, we’ll be presenting Quebec solutions for the visitor experience and innovative services that meet the needs identified for this iconic venue. These presentations will provide partners with an overview of current trends in innovation.
A “tourism and sport” Innovation Café, in the form of an online panel, is scheduled for May 7 at 8:30 a.m., to share with all interested tourism players the first learnings on innovation at the crossroads of these two fields. The panel will be moderated by Guy-Joffroi Lord, Administrative Director, ESG UQAM, with Alain Larochelle, Vice-President, Operations and Business Development, Olympic Park, Andréanne Paquet, Manager, Sports Market, Tourisme Montréal and Charles Frémont, Director, Le Tremplin, Paris & Co.
Within the sports industry, sports tourism is the fastest-growing segment. “In 2017, 4.89 million visitors travelled there and spent C$1.27 billion,” wrote the Transat Chair in Tourism. So it’s an important market for the growth that’s coming. Innovation is part of it.
The MT Lab and the Olympic Park want to strengthen the synergy between sport, tourism, culture and entertainment, and aim to create a new generation of events, services and content that can help boost tourist appeal.
Eventually, the place of sport in a destination’s positioning strategies or its role in business tourism will benefit everyone, especially given the new challenges of tourism recovery.
Originally published on Tourisme Express on March 29, 2021
