#EXCLUSIVE: IFTM launches an Innovation Village!
Emotions at the heart of innovation

Breaking news! IFTM Top Resa is launching a new Innovation Village dedicated to emotions in the heart of the TechZone.
This space will focus on inspiring creations and be inaugurated at the IFTM Top Resa trade show on 1 October. New technologies and the digitalisation of the travel industry are essential to remaining competitive and in the search for “smart” inspiration. Now more than ever, experience, acquisition and customer retention are part of the challenge of creating emotion.
What’s up Doc?

Frédéric Lorin, Director of IFTM Top Resa, wanted to create a new space dedicated to innovation and turned to Dr Sophie Lacour, who is a researcher and founder of Advanced Tourism.
This space of around 100m² at the entrance of the TechZone will showcase innovative and inspiring tourism solutions and products, near the Hackathon, startups and Business Club.
Organised around a linear time line, the village features the key moments in the travel experience: inspiration, reception, dining, accommodation and leisure activities.

For eyes only?

Visitors will be able to test the innovations showcased, including immersing themselves in a 360° trip, feeling materials, using screens remotely, exploring their brain waves or interacting with a robot. These innovations will all be featured exclusively at the trade show.

Why and who’s it for?

What makes these innovations special is that they are innovative building blocks that can easily be integrated into to existing solutions. They can be easily tailored and adapted to specific problems and will be a source of inspiration because they are people-centred and fulfil the dreams of IFTM Top Resa exhibitors and visitors alike.

Who is Sophie Lacour?

Sophie Lacour is a researcher and has a Ph.D. in information and communication science. She is the founder of Advanced Tourism, a tourism research firm specialised in innovation, and the main partner of the first edition of IFTM Top Resa’s Innovation Village.
She provides lectures and consulting on tourism of the future, and was behind the French tourism delegation at CES 2019 in Las Vegas.
 

 
 
Frédéric Lorin, Director of IFTM TOP RESA, says:  “Over the past 3 years, IFTM Top Resa has cemented its technological shift. After creating the Start-Up Contest, Hackathon, TechZone and Digital Day, this year, the trade show will be inaugurating a major new addition, the Innovation Village by Advanced Tourism. Sophie Lacour is the leading specialist in innovation in the travel industry. She has the ability to imagine the potential of a product, solution or even a project. She is an expert in decoding and interpreting innovation.”

Sophie Lacour, founder of Advanced Tourism, adds: “Innovation is an essential theme for the tourism challenges of today and tomorrow. This collaboration with the leading B2B trade fair for travel niche markets is an incredible opportunity for the new talents featured, and for Advanced Tourism. I like to discover new things and understand them. What I love most is unearthing an innovative project where the creators had no idea that it could be applied to the travel sector. Several solutions featured in the IFTM Top Resa Innovation Village are great examples of this. I sensed their huge potential and worked with these young entrepreneurs to find specific tourism applications that can be immediately implemented in hotels, tourism offices, travel agencies, heritage sites, and even boats.”