On June 6th, at the Hotel Club La Serena, Eurochile Business Foundation together with the Regional Government of Coquimbo held the International Seminar “Circular Tourism in the Coquimbo Region: Challenges and Opportunities for the incorporation of Circular Economy in SMEs“, which brought together regional authorities, MSMEs in the tourism sector and experts in the area.

This activity took place in the framework of the launch of the programme “Reactivation of Regional Tourism with Circular Economy“, financed by the Regional Government and executed by Eurochile, through the Innovation Fund for Competitiveness (FIC), which contributes to the reactivation and recovery of local tourism through the generation of new sustainable and circular products, thus promoting knowledge and the transition to a circular economy among SMEs in the region.

Among the authorities present at the activity were José Aravena, executive director and Ivonne Palma, director of Sustainability and Circular Economy, both representatives of Fundación Empresarial Eurochile; Juan Hasfura, deputy head of the Development and Industries Division of the Regional Government of Coquimbo; Eduardo Martínez, Spanish expert with extensive expertise in tourism and circular economy; Laura Cerda, president of the Chamber of Tourism of the Coquimbo Region; Gustavo Dubó, deputy regional director of Corfo Coquimbo; Eduardo Martínez, Spanish expert with extensive expertise in tourism and circular economy; Laura Cerda, president of the Chamber of Tourism of the Coquimbo Region; Gustavo Dubó, deputy regional director of Corfo Coquimbo and Angélica Funes, regional director of Sernatur Coquimbo. The specialists presented the advantages and benefits that circularity can offer in the field of tourism, highlighting the importance of optimising resources and promoting sustainable practices in the industry.

In this context, Juan Hasfura, representative of the Regional Government of Coquimbo, states that, “For us to be able to work with Eurochile is of vital importance, as it gives us a degree of confidence that the programme will go according to plan, given that they have the capacity to develop the main objective, which is to benefit the region’s MSMEs“.

On the other hand, Luis Rubio, attendee at the event and representative of the Rucor Tourism agency, which operates in the region of Coquimbo and La Serena, points out that, “To date, this region has taken on a very important role with respect to tourism, and for us it is fundamental to provide a great variety of tourist destinations. This is why, thanks to this programme, we feel in a way that we have the possibility to strengthen what we do and to approach new measures to help the environment“.

In addition, Laura Cerda, president of the Chamber of Tourism of the Coquimbo Region, “For us it is important to promote the permanent alignment and meet the needs of our businesses according to the look of enhancing cost management, improvement in service processes, especially with a look at circular economy that allows us to optimise immediate deadlines“.

Also during the launch, the leading specialist in tourism and circular economy, Eduardo Martinez, CEO of HIDRIA, Ciencia ambiente y desarrollo, was presented. Martinez focused on the benefits of the application and opportunities of the circular economy in SMEs in the tourism sector, noting that, “Currently, hotels and restaurants are the ones that would concentrate much of the initial effort in circularity, because they are those that have processes of matter and energy that go in and out, which is why I will work more on examples of applicability of circularity to tourism today”.

At this meeting, attendees enjoyed a keynote presentation and an interactive debate where they had the possibility to raise their concerns and opinions on the circular economy and how it can be applied to local MSMEs.

Similarly, José Aravena, executive director of the Eurochile Business Foundation, explains that, “At Eurochile we focus on promoting sustainable business models and efficient tools for the implementation of these projects that contribute to the resolution of environmental problems at the regional level“.

In short, the circular economy represents a great opportunity for the sustainable development of companies in the tourism sector in the Coquimbo region, and its adoption is key to continue moving towards a more sustainable economic model. Therefore, this event was key for MSMEs to learn about the topic and the measures necessary to implement sustainable practices in their production processes.