On Monday 26 October, a number of suppliers of innovative solutions for optimising water and energy management met with managers of tourist accommodation establishments in the South of France for a first-of-its-kind meeting. The aim? To present the best solutions identified to meet the needs of this type of structure, to establish the first commercial exchanges and to discuss the targeted funding schemes. The meeting was organised as part of the Green in Med project by Capenergies, in partnership with the Var CCI.
Innovation to make tourist accommodation more competitive
The European project Green In Med aims to support tourist accommodation in better managing their water and energy consumption and thus improve their competitiveness through ecological innovation. The hotel industry is an energy-intensive sector, not least because of the high levels of comfort it offers and the fact that guests are not always very virtuous in their use of energy and water.
In her introduction, Anne-Marie Perez, Director of the Capenergies cluster, outlined the unique context currently facing SMEs in the tourism sector. This is a key sector for the regional economy, accounting for 13.% of regional GDP, 25,000 establishments and 7.5% of jobs in the region (including 120,000 salaried employees).
Innovative solutions for water and energy management
Renewable energy production, seawater air conditioning (SWAC), thermal storage, intelligent lighting, water purification and recycling, smart metering, IoT... there are many tried and tested innovative solutions available on the market. Used in a variety of sectors, their effectiveness is a competitive advantage for SMEs.
At the event, 5 SMEs with expertise in energy management solutions and 3 SMEs active in water management presented their offerings. Tourist accommodations discovered benchmark solutions for the tourism industryThe catalogue was compiled by a network of cross-border experts as part of the Green in Med project. This catalogue presents existing solutions on the market that offer a rapid return on investment.
Specific support for tourist accommodation
Several financial mechanisms to support the tourism sector in this process were presented.
The next deadline is the "Chèque innovations" call for projects. worth between €2k and €2.5k, which will be launched in November 2020. The main aim of this PAA is to support tourist accommodation in their energy efficiency and water consumption management projects (advice, introductions, identification of funding sources, etc.). This is the first stage in analysing and creating synergies with SMEs offering solutions. As part of the deployment of the actions planned under the Green in Med project, grants of up to €50k will be made available from April/May 2021 to implement the water and energy saving solutions identified.
Associated with the Capenergies cluster at this event, the Var CCI took the opportunity to present the opportunities offered to SMEs and accommodation providers in the South of France by another European project, Smart Tourism.
 | Find out more about the Green In Med project: www.enicbcmed.eu/projects/greeninmed |