Four European best practice initiatives, including green procurement for tourism and interactive marketing tools, were showcased at the Malta Communications Authority’s e-commerce forum last week.

Enzo Finochhiaro presented the project implemented in the Italian region of Emilia Romagna for green procurement for tourism, a platform for the hospitality industry.

Techcheck and Webcheck, two sister initiatives in Galway, Ireland, were outlined by Stephen Dudley and James Fox: the first is a scheme that assists small businesses to improve operations through the adoption of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Webcheck is aimed at businesses operating in tourism and helps in the design, development and promotion of web presence.

Maria del Pilar Martinez de Olcoz presented the ‘Video Guides of Viana’ initiative which has been undertaken by the Spain city and is an interactive marketing tool for tourism establishments.

Representatives from local businesses, authorities and other key bodies from the industry participated in this forum, an opportunity to gain an understanding of foreign initiatives in the field and explore how good policy practices could be applied locally.

They also discussed the importance of ICTs as tools and means to improve business operations and increase entrepreneurship.

The forum was held as part of series of initiatives undertaken under the ICT-VN project, a project partly funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Interreg IVC programme. The project seeks to promote and facilitate the creation of ICT-enabled value networks across the participating European regions through better public policies.