By Benjamin Lyngdoh
A small shop located at Seven Sisters Falls Viewpoint, Sohra is suddenly on Instagram. The account was not created by the proprietor, rather by tourists. The tourists were happy by the services and wanted others to see what the shop has to offer. So they put her in the Instagram space. The result is that the lady now has a bigger market share. A consumer eating at a fast food joint located outside gate number two of NEHU, Shillong, animatedly explained how the consumer should be served first with water once he enters; that there should be a signage outside advertising the shop; that the soup comes before the rice, etc. The result is that the shop is doing better now than before. These are cases of ‘value co-creation.’ It is a process where the consumer gives ideas, tips, tactics, etc to the seller on how the business can be done better through re-designed products/services and processes.
Dialogue
The basic requirement for value co-creation is dialogue. It is the opposite of plain value creation whereby the seller will formulate and develop a product/service according to the demands of the market and sell. Value co-creation requires dialogue with the consumer so that the limitations and shortcomings of the products/services can be identified and accordingly improved/corrected by the seller. Dialogue between the tourist and the service providers is one aspect that has to be incorporated into Meghalaya tourism. Dialogue in the context of value co-creation should not be confused with consumer feedback. Feedbacks are unidirectional and lack inputs for long-term business improvements. Dialogue is not an integral part of feedback and hence not very effective.
In value co-creation, the service providers should look at the possibility of dialogue with the tourist. This is where the best ideas and help will come from. Every now and then there will be tourists who would like to engage with the entrepreneurs about their offerings and service quality. This should be taken as valuable inputs for improvements in products/services. Point being, most of the tourists have been to multiple destinations. So, when they share in dialogue they are recollecting and delivering experiences across the country and beyond. Hence, the dialogue becomes priceless. Again, some tourists are apprehensive to engage in dialogue. In such cases, it is the job of the entrepreneur to approach and initiate. As said in entrepreneurship – ‘entrepreneurs are good listeners and great storytellers’.
Relationship
One of the outcomes of value co-creation is the relationship between the tourist and the service providers. This is important as it ensures repeat travel by the tourists. For repeat travel to happen, the one and only condition is value proposition. As long as the tourists get value they would continue visiting and also market the attractions to others. Once value absorption stops the repeat travel would also stop. It is imperative that the service providers’ value co-create their offerings continuously. Numerous research studies have shown that in the absence of value co-creation the tourist inflows into the destination tends to decline. That way, value co-creation also impacts upon sustainability and longevity of the tourism activities of any destination. The dialogue and relationship provides an opportunity for the entrepreneurs to not only sell their tourism offerings but also to learn/discuss about respective cultures, societal norms and practices, opinions and perceptions about issues such as environmental sustainability, etc. This can in turn make the tourist more knowledgeable about the destination and hence become more sensitive towards its socio-cultural and geographical environments. Responsible service providers play an important role in shaping responsible tourists and this is much needed in a nature-based destination like Meghalaya. Many tourism enterprises are being funded by schemes of the state government. It would be good to incorporate the practice of value co-creation into the design of the schemes – say; value co-creation can be one of the conditions for loan approval.
Nobel Prize in Economics
The 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics went to Daron Acemoglu (MIT), Simon Johnson (MIT) and James Robinson (University of Chicago) for their work on how institutions are formed and affect prosperity. An important part of the research was what they called ‘inclusive institutions’. It basically refers to governance through institutions which take the community into confidence. It refers to regulations which are formulated by taking the opinions and perspectives of the community. Unless the community agrees to the fine print, the regulation is not put into force. The positive outcome of this is that regulations that are framed through inclusive institutions are most effectively implemented on the ground. This is the epitome of effective, progressive and inclusive governance.
This Nobel Prize winning research is a timely reminder to all that the age of one-directional policy formulation and implementation is over. Today, it is a two-way traffic. This in itself signifies value co-creation between the government and the common man. Tourism policies, action plans and road maps have to be formulated by extensively taking pointers and valuable inputs from the ground. It is only then that the huge gap between policy on paper and its implementation would be narrowed down. Presently, the state government has schemes for resorts, home-stays, Bed and Breakfast (B&B), vehicles, etc. Particularly in the case of properties, it would be better if the schemes are formulated and executed by taking valuable inputs from the communities. Every village is different from the other in terms of their socio-economic profile and hence would have different requirements. For instance, if the state government tries to come up with a policy on community-based tourism (CBT); then such a policy has to be framed at the community-level and not the state secretariat.
Value Co-destruction
The concept of value is a dichotomy. It can either be co-creation or the more concerning co-destruction. As of today, there is value co-creation in some of the tourism enterprises and activities of Meghalaya. These are mainly those entrepreneurs who understand the intricacies of business through formal study or training programs or are self taught. But, their numbers are in the minority. The majority largely indulge in value co-destruction. The best examples are the nature-based tourism products that are sold in the name of Community Based Tourism (CBT). Most of them do not sustain as the stakeholders do not have the basic knowledge and skill to run tourism operations. Our villages still think that tourism means a waterfall, river, hills, caves, cliffs, etc. In fact, tourism should not be started in any nature-based resources unless the community is willing and has the basic infrastructure in place first (some accommodations, eateries, activities, entertainment, and most importantly an itinerary). When the host is not ready and if the tourists who come in are irresponsible travelers, this is the point where value co-destruction happens. Some more examples – when taxi drivers protest against tourist drivers from Assam; when the tourism bodies are mostly looking at their own self-interest; when pressure groups oppose railways; when the state government is struggling with the issue of the airport, taxi drivers, railways, etc. All of these are sad instances of value co-destruction.
This column has been written in the context of tourism. But, the concept of value co-creation and its benefits applies to all other sectors, be it agriculture, manufacturing, small business, local administration, locality issues (Dorbar Shnong), etc.
(The writer teaches at NEHU; email – [email protected])