Presentation done by David Guimont and Dominic Lapointe, during "Tourism & Co-creation" workshop, of the ENTER2015 eTourism conference.

1. ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 1
Co-creation of a tourist experience
enhanced by technology,
in the context of a Living Lab
David Guimont a and Dominic Lapointe b
a Living lab en innovation ouverte (Llio), Cégep de Rivière-du-Loup
and
b Urban & Tourism Studies Departement at Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM)
Centre de recherche en tourisme et patrimoine
Canada
info@llio.ca

2. ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 2
• Context and challenge
• Two layers of co-creation (as a goal / as a mean)
• Design of this action research (action vs
research POV)
• Preliminary results and next steps

3. ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 3
Context and challenge
• DMO of a rural area wishes to offer a better visiting
experience
• The DMO wants to innovate, or at least, catch the
mobile tourism train !
• The DMO have no experience in the design of service
by co-creation processes, and even less in co-creation
processes supported by ICTs
• The DMO have no sufficient expertise to adress the
fact that the tourist want to co-create is own
experience

4. ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 4
2 layers of co-creation
Co-creation as a mean:
• Co-design of the
« technology enhanced
tourist experience » in a
living lab context
• With stakeholders
(FaceToFace+web) and tourists
(only web)
• Stakeholders learn how to
co-create with each
others and with tourists
Co-creation as a goal :

5. ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 5
Experience
Typology Matrix
Linking Technology and
co-creation
Neuhofer & Al., 2013
The goal : a mobile assistant to discover the landscapes and villages;
helping to co-create and share your own experience

6. ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 6
The mean : Co-creation
with stakeholders and users in a living lab
• Co-creation is a way to minimise the risks of elaborating
experiences that do not meet the needs of tourists or
that do not suit the host environments.
• ICTs have the potential to support co-creation and
enhance experiences.
• However, involving host populations, the public and
private sectors, with users (tourists) is not an easy task.
• Hence the interest of using the well-tried Living Lab
approach.

7. ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 7
Living lab ?
o open innovation environments
o in real-life contexts with real users,
o in which user-driven innovation is fully
integrated within the co-creation process
o by the close collaboration between users and
other stakeholders such as business, research
institutes, and government
o in Public-Private-People Partnerships (PPPP)
(Almirall and Wareham, 2008; Eriksson, Niitamo and Kulkki, 2005).

8. ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 8
Living lab

9. ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 9
ACTION SIDE
Actors involved in this action research
Stakeholders (PPP Partnership)
• Public actor : Living Lab (LLio)
associated with two higher education
institutions Implication of 2 researchers and 9 students
(2 from universities + 7 from our profesionnal school)
• Private actor : a local company in the
field of ICT/web development.
• Population : the DMO and a group of
its members (15 tourism producers).
• A steering commitee of the 3 stakeholders
• Co-creative workshops with a community
of around 20 peoples
Tourists (users)
• an online community comprising
over 20 tourists.
• conditions for the recruitement :
• experienced travellers
• having a smartphone or tablet
• speaking French.
• They have been recruited via
social media.

10. ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 10
ACTION SIDE
The co-creation process implemented for the research
FormIT methodology
• Planning
• recruitment, kick off meeting (october 2014)
• Concept design
• 3 workshops, 3 rounds of interactions
• Prototype design
• 1st workshop…
• Innovation design
• Implementation / test(summer 2015)
• Second iteration
• Commercialisation

11. ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 11
ACTION SIDE
The co-creation process implemented for the research
Expected results:
• A mobile app (beta version) to be made
public in may
• Tested during the summer
• This app present points of interest and
itinerary.
• The tourist co-create his itinerary or use
those presented by the DMO or other tourists.
• He share his itinerary or vote or comment other’s.
Découvrir
Rivière-
du-Loup

12. ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 12
RESEARCH SIDE
Goals and methodology
• accompany and document this co-creation in an LL mode:
– to better understand the phenomena linked to co-creation in a virtual
context.
– identify the factors which influence participation and the success of the
co-creation process
– determine the factors that motivate, hinder or facilitate the
participation of the users and various stakeholders.
– identify the success and failure factors in the recruiting and involvement
of users, as well as the success factors in the achievement of the
expected results.
• through observation, qualitative survey, interviews and a
delphi.

13. ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 13
Preliminary results
Gains :
• Concept for a mobile app to help discover the
region’s POI (to be test during the summer)
• Development of knowledge and innovation/co-
creation capacities
• Emulation : 3 spin off projects :
– A new module on the DMO’s web site
– 2 technology-enhanced activities at specific POI

14. ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 14
Preliminary results
Challenges :
• Recruit and involve tourists (this is not a community that
already exists)
• How to make them interact efficiently?
• How to anchor the co-creation culture in tourists
communities?
• How to reconcile different views and expertises
between the stakeholders

15. ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 15
How to reconcile different views and expertises
Experience Typology
Matrix
Linking Technology and co-
creation
Neuhofer & Al., 2013
DMO
comfort zone
App developer
comfort zone
Project goal

16. ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 16
Next steps
• Spring 2015 : App development
• Summer 2015 : beta test
• The second year (2015-2016) :
– analyze observation made during the first year in terms of the
mobile application and co-creation process.
– reuse the virtual collaboration mechanisms that worked well,
correct those that were deficient, and perform a transfer of
continuous expertise with the various stakeholders.
– document the evolution of the stakeholder’s co-creation and
innovation capacities.

17. ENTER 2015 Research Track Slide Number 17
GRAZIE, MERCI, THANK YOU !
david.guimont@cegep-rdl.qc.ca