The Baule. The connected beach is still looking for its cruising pace | Ocean Press

The 2019 season was that of the digital sand revolution driven by Veolia. With a timid start, the dealer still has to convince.

Digital to the sand of the beach. Veolia has never hidden its intention to make La Baule the first connected beach in France. And even a national laboratory of digital and tourism innovation under the Smart Bay banner. From words to action, the first season of the beach Veolia was therefore the opportunity to test the first services, all inseparable from the smartphone: cashless payment with a rechargeable bracelet online, meal delivery on the towel with the application Playak and the famous connected and paid instructions. The start-up Vigicube has installed 120, divided into five blocks along the beach. Balance: 350 lockers were rented during the summer. It is weak admits Philippe Racapé, manager of Vigicube which does not hide a point of disappointment.

7,000 cashless payment bracelets were distributed for free this summer. | PHOTO ARCHIVES PO

"Improve things"

So, of course, he is going ahead to explain this weak result even though the tool works, and there was no vandalism. For Philippe Racapé, the paid offer can cool, the communication deficit does not help. But above all it's a new service. If Veolia has a head start on Beach 2.0, it takes time to convince tourists. We made an initial assessment. We will now wonder what must be done to improve things, breath Benoît Ringot, head of Veolia on the peninsula. It takes time for this to enter the mentalities, abounds Christophe Carbonnières, Director of the Royal Sails. His establishment is one of the eleven that offered this summer payment via a connected bracelet without removing the blue card. Nearly 7,000 were distributed for "a hundred active" in the summer. For Christophe Carbonnières, it may be disappointing, but it's a plus.

The Playak application allows to be delivered directly on his briefcase. | PHOTO ARCHIVES PO

"Added value"

But a plus that goes through a prepayment online. The passage to the act is not always simple, notes Benoît Ringot. Veolia intends nevertheless to continue the development of the digital services thanks to a call for expression of interest (AMI) launched last spring. Four start-ups have been identified for the 2020 season, from geolocation for maritime safety to artificial intelligence to improve recruitment of personnel. It remains to be seen if this ultra connected beach will not tire, or even frighten the vacationers who would like, sometimes, disconnect during the holidays. Corinne Denis, beach ambassador at Veolia ensures that these services are welcomed. And Benoît Ringot wants to point out that it is out of the question to impose them on users. It's just added value. As for the numerical data of the users, the management is strictly regulated by the RGPD (general regulation on the protection of the data, note ) ". Precision is never useless. We must now convince again.

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