Philippines to host the 4th Annual World Health Tourism Congress in 2009

by Arleah C. Baingan

he Department of Tourism’s (DOT) aggressive campaign to place the Philippines as a top global health and wellness destination has finally paid off for the country will host the World Health Tourism Congress (WHTC) on March 26 to 28, 2009 at Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel in Manila.

The event is held every year and this is the first time that an Asian country is hosting the prestigious event. Germany (2006), Cyprus (2007) and Spain (2008) were the past host countries of WHTC.

Dubbed as the “Heart of Asia,” the Philippines has a wealth of healthcare options not only when it comes to competitive medical practitioners but also as far as spa, alternative and complementary healthcare are concerned. Aside from the Philippines, the strong players in the Asian region are Thailand and Singapore. While Thailand focuses more on cosmetic surgical procedures, the Philippines has been the destination for cardiovascular and diabetes treatments for the past years.

DOT Undersecretary for Sports and Wellness Tourism Cynthia Carrion emphasizes the country’s edge over its Asian neighbors when it comes to medical tourism, “Our people can beat Thailand. We have everything here especially alternative healing.” She added that the Philippines also has advantage over Thailand when it comes to language, with English being widely spoken in cities and most establishments around the country. Carrion further said that DOT is preparing affordable accommodation to support the health tourism industry.

Meanwhile, DOT Secretary Joseph Ace Durano stresses that “The 2009 WHTC will bring this large global market within the reach of our health and wellness in industry, and our success in gaining the privilege to host clearly indicates that our campaign to establish a niche in this field is gaining ground.”

Hadi Malaeb, Managing Partner of Dubai-based Aura Events International, the company that organizes the event, on the other hand emphasizes the Philippines’ potential to attract more medical tourists because it offers a retirement or place of residence option as a byproduct of this growing industry.

Big Market

The health tourism (also known as medical and well being tourism) industry covers a huge market for it includes anything from medical to surgical to alternative healing and dental procedures to sports and hospitality aspects. Cosmetic surgical procedures are just a small part of it.

The industry is continuously gaining ground because it addresses the need for affordable health options and provides opportunity to have a vacation while seeking medical treatment outside the home country, according to Malaeb.

He further informs that the World Travel Organization sees it as a rising trend. At present it is a $40 billion industry and based on trends it is expected to reach $61 billion by 2012. There is a ready market for medical tourism because people are looking for a one-stop solution.

Buyers and Sellers

The WHTC is an invitation-only event and not open to the public. Its organizers stresses that this is not a trade show. Rather, it is a gathering of decision makers and solution providers where one-on-one meetings are pre-arranged to maximize benefits for both parties. The event’s main goal is to reduce the sales cycle and for buyers to meet the right providers in a shorter time. The buyers include the Ministries of Health particularly of GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, insurance companies outbound travel companies and Fortune 500 companies that use well-being travel as part of their incentives. The buyers are the decision makers so having a meeting with them is actually cost-effective for the sellers too.

These buyers are matched to solution providers that include hospitals, dental clinics, spa, resorts, hotels, government tourism agencies, inbound tour operators, golf courses, sports clubs, sports medicine specialists, medical agent services, plastic surgery clinics, airlines and medical travel portals.

Benefits of WHTC to Host Country

Learning about the benefits of hosting such event in the country can explain why the DOT is aggressively pursuing it. Mr. Malaeb enumerates that investment to local economy is the most obvious benefit as well as opening up of new markets by introducing the Philippines to buyers from the Arab world aside from tapping the US and European markets, introducing local solutions providers to international health market, promoting Philippines as a destination of choice, and growth in border crossing of patients seeking better care, cheaper options and shorter waiting lists.

With Asia being the biggest hub of medical tourism, the hosting of this event is expected to boost the country’s efforts to be a major player in the industry and showcase its brand of healthcare to the world.

For those interested to join this event, please get in touch with the Department of Tourism through email: webmaster@tourism.gov.ph or call 523-8411 to 20 for more information.