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Experimentation is part of the DNA of young sprouts. Agile, quick and alert, they are used to taking risks to achieve their goals. 

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Startups focus on issues, create solutions and invest in their implementation. Sometimes their ideas hit home runs, other times they die out on the spot. But young sprouts get back up and start again because their only limit is their courage, their creativity and their audacity!

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Experiment and Understand Better

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Over the past five years, many startups (in French) have marked the ecosystem of the MT Lab in Montreal (in French). Not only do they bring innovative solutions to the market, but they also help gather important industry insights. During the marketing period, incubated companies collect key information that helps understand better the extent of certain issues, particularly through the challenges they encounter.

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In 2022, the journey of these young sprouts brought out some observations, here are a few of them:

• The biggest challenge to sustainable tourism growth is managing the changes it requires. The interest of organisations and consumers in sustainable tourism is very real, but taking action remains difficult. However, the subject is well documented, increasingly understood by a growing number of protagonists and solutions abound. Changing behaviour (individual and corporate) is, therefore, a big challenge.
• The importance of digital shift is no longer up for debate, yet some small players are struggling to set up a minimal computerised system. This reality creates a divide between companies; the more technological solutions develop, the wider the gap.
• Consumers are drawn to immersive experiences that bring emotions to life. Whether through sensory stimulation (in French), access to a cultural offer (in French) enhanced by technology or even the use of virtual reality (in French); there are several ways to experience a deep connection with tourism products. Is this trend a guarantee of success for tourism in the metaverse? There is certainly a curiosity for this universe, but the expected enthusiasm has not yet been observed.

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Experiment and Defy Challenges

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Tourism organisations will have to deal with labour issues for several years to come. In this context, experimenting with solutions must remain a priority if we want to ensure the competitiveness of companies operating in the sector. To this end, a few startups from the 6th cohort of the MT Lab are tackling various challenges underlying the crying need for solutions for employee retention. Here are three:

• Simplify recruitment to fill seasonal jobs by facilitating the sharing and distribution of talents with the Tempin tool.
• Welcome foreign workers better and ensure their professional, personal and cultural integration with the personalised approach of Erablee.
• Facilitate the management of social benefits and help employers to distinguish themselves from others by offering diversified benefits that meet the real needs of employees with the Tedy solution.

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At the start of 2023, many uncertainties hang over the industry. Staying agile and ready to try new ways of doing things will undoubtedly be the best way to thwart the upheavals that will punctuate the months to come!

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Additional source(s) for the original article:

• ‍Interview with Martin Lessard, General Manager of MT Lab, Frédérick Roussel, Deputy General Manager of MT Lab, and Mathias Prouvost, Program Manager of MT Lab, November 25, 2022.

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This article is published in partnership with Transat Chair in tourism at the Université du Québec à Montréal, School of Management (ESG-UQAM). The French original version of this article can be found in the Cahier Tendances 2023; we have provided an English translation.