On Tuesday 7th November, the Eurochile Business Foundation held the webinar “Transition of Tourism SMEs towards a Circular Economy”, given by Olga Pérez Pastor, project manager of the State Company for the Management of Innovation and Tourism Technologies (SEGITTUR). This event is part of the training plan of the Programme “Reactivation of Regional Tourism with Circular Economy”, implemented by Eurochile Business Foundation, financed by the Innovation Fund for Competitiveness (FIC) of the Regional Government of Coquimbo and aimed to provide small and medium enterprises in the tourism sector with knowledge about the circular economy, show initiatives that are being carried out in Europe and highlight its benefits and opportunities.

During the day, emphasis was placed on the importance of good practices in circular economy within the tourism sector. Participants had the opportunity to learn about European success stories and to access a variety of roadmap manuals designed specifically for SMEs in the sector. The Spanish expert pointed out the importance of these manuals, stressing that the focus of these documents was to be simple and to include examples, case studies and a set of actions in order to facilitate information on what is being developed in the circular economy. In this context, he explained the manual designed for SMEs, which contains a lot of information on trends and alliances, and which also contains questions for companies to analyse the starting point in their sector, allowing them to rethink their business. He also commented that there is another document, a guide to good circular economy practices promoted by tourism destinations and companies, which contains a compilation of 30 good practices for the sector and which aims to serve as a reference for actors who are moving from the linear model to the circular model in tourism.

The event was attended by Marilú Mansilla, project manager of the Eurochile Business Foundation, who presented the work of the Foundation and the progress of the project, as well as Mario Suárez, head of the Development and Industries Division of the Regional Government of Coquimbo. In addition, Pedro Abad, commercial director of ARTAJO and Roberta Rolón, director of Agroturismo Sant Joan de Binissaida, who shared their experiences as European success stories in the implementation of the circular economy in the tourism sector.

Eurochile’s commitment to support SMEs in the tourism sector in the Coquimbo region on their path towards sustainability through the circular economy is reinforced by events such as this webinar. The promotion of sustainable and circular practices in tourism is crucial for the preservation of the environment and the economic development of the region.

To relive the webinar, we invite you to watch the following video: