The FINANCIAL — We are becoming more and more digitally connected to each other. The global economy in a sense has become a connection economy: some of the biggest companies of our time are based on selling connection to people.
Facebook is of course the most obvious example. While the company makes most of its money from advertising, to consumers it sells the promise of connection. It allows people to be connected to each other, and to the groups or brands that they like. Many brands work the same way: when you buy a BMW for example, you don’t just buy one because you like the fuel economy, but also because you like the lifestyle that comes with it, and because you identify with the kind of people who generally drive BMWs.
As these forms of connection become more and more commoditized, people are looking for deeper forms of connection. This demand for being connected to others in a deeper way is an ideal opportunity for (aspiring) entrepreneurs in Georgia: why not connect the world to Georgia?
While Georgia does indeed have beautiful mountains, and an interesting seaside, this is not what makes it unique. What really differentiates Georgia is its people, its traditions, and its collective experiences. Western tourists especially want to connect to this. They want to be part of the places they visit, and get to know the people. Speaking from personal experience, it is mostly the people I remember from my travels, not the places. Yes, I still vaguely recall the natural beauty of Uganda, the Pearl of Africa, but I remember the people much more vividly. The stories they told me, and the times we laughed, ate, and drank together are valuable memories. In tourism old-style, locals were often a nuisance, who drove your taxis and annoyed you while you were trying to see historical buildings and pretty landscapes. In tourism new-style, meeting and connecting with locals is a goal, not a nuisance.
Often connections arise out of shared work: many volunteering projects are in fact based on this principle. Shared effort, or in some cases, shared suffering, brings people together. I worked at a microfinance organizations in Benin, and I spent much of my time going to remote villages on the back of a motorcycle. I am not sure if I added much value to the organization that way, but I certainly connected to my local colleagues with whom I shared those experiences of traveling to and working in the Beninese countryside.
Many Western tourists would love to stay on a farm in the countryside, or with a host family in the city. Also offer them the opportunity to participate in some of the things that are unique to Georgia, such as the supra. Tell the story of Georgia, and don’t be afraid to talk about its (sometimes painful) history. Tell your own story. People want to learn about you and your country.
Tourists who take part in a connectivity experience like the one you might offer will come home raving about what they experienced. Sure, they will show their aunts some pictures of old buildings and beautiful mountains, but the conversation will mostly be about the amazing people they met. They will tell their friends about the fascinating supra tradition that they discovered, or about the stories an old man told them about life in the Soviet Union. Historical buildings and beautiful landscapes are much more interesting when you have a context to place them in, and when you understand the people who built and created them.
Some words of caution are also appropriate. Not every tourist is interested in a connectivity experience. An Iranian tourist coming to Batumi to spend a few days on the beach probably wants to tan instead of learn about Georgian traditions. Connectivity is for a specific subgroup of tourists, who often go on longer trips, and sometimes don’t even like to call themselves tourists. Also, be careful of commoditizing connection and making a show of it. Connection is not about the villagers dancing for the tourists every evening, and it is not about turning your culture into a museum piece: it is about connecting with real people and real stories.
Forget about tourism as just tourists admiring historical sites and beautiful nature: tourism will become more and more about connection to your fellow human beings in a different country. Take advantage of that opportunity.
GEOCAPITAL MICROFINANCE ORGANIZATION
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