Quebec City, December 13, 2023 – MT Lab today announced a redesign of the visual identity of its Quebec City-based Sustainable Tourism Innovation Cluster, co-founded in partnership with Destination Québec Cité and supported by Québec numérique.

Launched in February 2023, the now renamed Le Pôle has already achieved several significant milestones in its first year of operation.

In addition, the cluster is preparing to launch its first sustainable tourism program, comprising 5 to 6 startups. Successful candidates will be announced in February.

Empreinte : A first cohort for Le Pôle

As part of this evolution, the cluster is announcing the launch of a new program called “Empreinte”, entirely dedicated to the prototyping and pre-commercialization of innovative solutions in the field of sustainable tourism.

Unlike the Maillage program program, which aims to foster collaboration and partnerships with major partners, Empreinte focuses on finalizing the offer, with the aim of testing and improving solutions.

It is important to note that Empreinte intervenes specifically in the prototyping/pre-commercialization phase, aiming to validate the potential of sustainable solutions with the tourism industry. The “Maillage” program, on the other hand, intervenes further downstream, notably at the start of or during the marketing phase.

Consequently, a startup will be able to initiate its journey with Le Pôle by joining the Empreinte program, before progressing to the Maillage program, thus offering flexibility and continuity in the support offered by MT Lab. The overall aim of these two programs is to enrich the support offered to startups, thus reinforcing MT Lab’s commitment, through its Pôle, to innovation in the sustainable tourism sector.

Le Pôle: rebranding and key objectives

Transforming the image of the Sustainable Tourism Innovation Cluster, from now on Le Pôlehas several key objectives:

• Clarify the distinction between the cluster and MT Lab’s more general mandate so that the ecosystem can easily find its way between the different offerings.

• Send a clear message to the industry about the need for need for innovation in sustainable tourism.

• Encourage the tourism industry to integrate innovation into its efforts to adopt sustainable practices.

• Facilitate collaboration with MT Lab’s major partnersin the context of sustainable tourism.

The Pôle d’Innovation en Tourisme Durable remains an integral part of the MT Lab, with the specific mission of encouraging the emergence of innovative solutions to meet the challenges of responsible, sustainable tourism.

Quotes

Robert Mercure, General Manager of Destination Québec quoted : “Concerted action and innovation are essential to generating sustainable spin-offs for the destination and developing it responsibly. With the launch of the “Empreinte” program, we’re delighted that new, innovative sustainable tourism solutions are becoming available to players in the region’s tourism industry. This initiative is another step towards positioning Quebec City as a forward-looking tourism destination.

Martin Lessard, MT Lab General Manager: “This stronger identity for the cluster allows it to mark its difference and the importance of sustainable tourism. The MT Lab is proud to be working with Destination Québec cité to attract the best innovations from tourism players in the region and throughout Quebec. “

Julien Bergeron, Pôle manager based in Quebec City: “As the new Pôle manager, I’m delighted to announce the launch of the “Empreinte” program, dedicated to incubating startups focused on prototyping innovative solutions for sustainable tourism. The name “Empreinte” evokes the idea of leaving a significant mark on the industry, while emphasizing the importance of a minimal ecological footprint. As such, participating startups aim to develop sustainable solutions to leave a positive footprint on the future of tourism.”