Contributing to the reactivation and recovery of tourism in the Coquimbo Region through the generation of new sustainable and circular products and promoting the knowledge and practice of the circular economy among MSMEs is the objective of the project “Reactivation of regional tourism with circular economy” that the Eurochile Business Foundation was awarded from the Innovation and Competitiveness Fund (FIC).

The initiative, which will be financed by the Regional Government with an investment of $118 million, will benefit 200 MSMEs linked to tourism in the 3 provinces of the region and 500 indirectly, that is, at least half of the registry of tourism providers of regional Sernatur. It is expected to enhance the practices that companies already have incorporated in their businesses such as: the S seal, Clean Production Agreements or those that are part of Sernatur’s “Commitment to Good Sustainable Tourism Practices”.

To reactivate regional tourism, associativity and collaborative work will be promoted and strengthened, focusing on local suppliers, and with this reducing their carbon footprint and even their water footprint.

In this sense, Eurochile’s proposal lies in the three types of innovation that it will be applied during the 18 months of execution. In the first stage, it will generate product innovation in sustainable and circular tourism services. Then, through the networks that the foundation has, it will innovate processes and, finally, it will carry out work with the municipalities.

For the executive director of Eurochile, José Aravena, the award of this project is a wonderful news that fully supports the work that the foundation has been carrying out recently at a national and regional level, strongly in Sustainability and Circular Economy.

In fact, the possibility of successfully carrying out different projects linked to tourism has allowed the foundation to achieve well-valued results, and to have a clear vision of the needs of the region.

“In this context, it is important to emphasize that this project responds to the specific needs of the territory raised by Eurochile, such as the reactivation and incorporation of the circular economy in tourism companies, in which, through European transfer, it seeks to contribute to the competitive development of MSMEs”, highlights the executive director.

Regarding the work methodology, José Aravena explains that the companies will be trained in concepts of tourism reactivation, green marketing, circular economy, circular business models, sustainability, and adaptation to climate change with the support of European and national experts, through different workshops.

A survey of companies and their circular practices will be carried out, and simultaneously the standards for the development of circular tourism products will be developed, which will be implemented at the prototype level, and later, they will be tested in the market.

“Companies will receive European transfer in the creation and marketing of circular tourism products under a circular business model. These products will be positioned once the communication and marketing plan is executed”, he adds.

The idea is that the beneficiary companies incorporate the circular economy as a business model, sustainable over time, which allows them to obtain positive actions in their businesses, something that Europe has been working on thanks to its own circular economy roadmap and Green Deal guidelines.