This Monday, Nîmes Métropole should record the payment of €50,000 to the Open Tourisme Lab. The vice-president responsible for economic development, Olivier Fabregoul, has always defended this tool, which, as he says, helps to promote the territory of Nîmes.

This Monday, the elected representatives of the metropolis of Nîmes meet for a municipal council. The session promises to be tough: 94 deliberations are to be presented and put to the vote. Among them: the allocation of an annual grant of €50,000 to the Open Tourisme Lab from an overall structure budget of around €850,000.

Chaired by Alain Penchinat, Open Tourisme Lab was founded in 2017 by former centrist President Yvan Lachaud. Beyond the political quarrels, the new president The Republicans von Agglo, Franck Proust had expressed some doubts about what unification brought to the territory.

Olivier Fabregoul, new mayor of Caissargues and vice-president of Nîmes Métropole in charge of economic development, is very proud to have convinced his boss to continue supporting this structure. An extension of EUR 10,000 was even approved, with the initial grant being EUR 40,000. For Olivier Fabregoul: “ The Open Tourism Lab is a nugget of the territory, a place where we have a French showcase of tourism innovation. »

last year on Gard target, the director of the Open Tourisme Lab, Emmanuel Bobin, took stock of the 70 start-ups supported. Following the advice put to the vote on Monday: The club has already accompanied more than 100 companies in five and a half years. The money paid by Nîmes Métropole will be used, among other things, to develop international actions, in particular with the MT Lab. The tourism, culture and entertainment innovation incubator based in Montreal and Quebec with which Nîmes wants to exchange start-ups.

It was enough to convince Franck Proust, particularly internationally oriented. “ Starting next week, Canadians will select five startups to depart April 29 through May 5. The idea is to find opportunities across the Atlantic and vice versa for Canadian companies arriving next October. ‘ says Emmanuel Bobin. And to add Olivier Fabregoul: ” Metropolis Nîmes and Canada, it’s a story in progressEnd. The airport will soon to welcome a Canadian company with an investment of 35 million euros. »

Coralie Mollaret