They are based in Calvados, Seine-Maritime and Eure, already export-oriented or wishing to embark on this path and run Norman tech companies. Until March 19, these eleven entrepreneurs led by the Normandy region were traveling to the east coast of the United States. On the program of their days: meetings with other companies in the country, but also the visit of a huge New York incubator, where 200 startups officiate.
The delegation also met heads of American companies with plans to set up in France, confides Hervé Morin, President of the Region: “We already have a few American companies set up in Normandy and a very large set-up to come, that of the chemist American Eastman in Port Jérôme”. The delegation must visit a factory of the group, “smaller than the one that will be established here, but similar”.
This type of trip to seek out new markets or consolidate existing ones is not new: the Region, France’s second largest exporter, organizes them “once or twice a year”. “We notably made trips with living heritage companies a few years ago, we made trips to China, Australia, and also to Iran when the market opened up,” recalls Hervé Morin.
But this trip had a dual purpose. It is also a question of promoting to Americans the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, which will take place on June 6, 2024, a pivotal moment for remembrance tourism in Normandy since these “ten-year” commemorations will probably be the last in the presence of D-Day veterans.
With this in mind, an evening to promote Normandy was organized at the French consulate in New York, during which two veterans, Robert Gibson and Norris Morvant, received the Normandy Region medal. At present, this communication is easily gaining ground, so great is the passion for this page of history in the United States. “There is a bond of heart between our region and this country, it is the Landing, according to Hervé Morin. We met a lot of presidents of foundations and associations around this question. It is extremely alive in the American collective memory. »
But what will happen once all the heroes are gone? The objective of the mission is also to maintain this link. Remembrance tourism attracts 6 million visitors to Normandy each year. “That’s the subject, we’re trying to think of new models to continue, such as the immersive Tribute to Heroes project (a future park dedicated to D-Day and the Battle of Normandy which should see the light of day in 2025 in Carentan Editor’s note). Normandy has also just announced that it has relaunched its request to Unesco for recognition of the D-Day landing beaches as World Heritage.