Whitewater sports: An innovation conducive to regional development? The case of the Ubaye Valley

The Ubaye Valley in the French Alps became a center of tourism and outdoor sports in the twentieth century. It is named after the river which became a site for the practice of whitewater sports (canoeing/kayaking, rafting, etc.). Various structures were created there to disseminate these practices (associations, clubs and finally companies). The marketing of products combining these activities was able to take off thanks to the promotion of events undertaken by elected officials and area companies. But how was this offer able to foster innovation, understood as the adaptation of practices to current needs? Reconstructing the perspectives of ordinary innovation, this article examines the technical aspect of activities and their levers. The territory reveals itself to be inseparable from the relationship between innovation and technology. The process of tourism development in the valley and the concept of territorial resource are here mobilized to understand the relationship between the actors and the process of reception of innovation at the local level.