In a bid to position the Philippines as a health and wellness destination in Asia, the Philippine Department of Tourism is organizing a Health and Wellness Tourism Summit from October 22 to 25, 2008 at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel in Manila. Hundreds of medical tourism professionals and suppliers are expected to attend this summit.
Medical tourism has been growing rapidly with an estimated 400,000 Americans presently going overseas yearly to seek medical treatment abroad. It has been reported that the number of American tourists would continue to rise as around 50 million Americans do not have health insurance while another 120 million Americans are underinsured. In Asia, it was reported that that some of the major players in this niche but fast growing market are India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. In the Philippines, the health and wellness sector is estimated to gain about P68.5 billion or equivalent to 1.26 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.
Adopting a theme, “Embracing Health and Wellness in the Heart of Asia”, this event seeks to lay down the groundwork for the country’s thriving health and wellness travel sector. The DOT expects a good attendance from groups of experts and policymakers from the government and private health and wellness sectors all over the world, such as, hospitals, insurance companies, medical association, spas and specialty clinics as well as tour operators, investors and other providers of health and tourism services.
Among the invited speakers of the event are Dr. Soe Nyunt-U who is currently the Representative to the Philippines of the World Health Organization, Dr. John Gray, author of 16 international best-selling books including the now classic gender relations manual “Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus”, Dr. Mary Tabacchi, one of the most respected and revered pioneers in the spa industry and Past President, International Spa Association Foundation, Dr. Samuel Bernal, a molecular biologist and an expert in regenerative medicine, Dr. Sanjiv Malik, Chief Executive of Max Healthcare and Renee-Marie Stephano, Founder and COO of the Medical Tourism Association.
The Summit is organized in cooperation with the Department of Health, Spa Association of the Philippines, Department of Trade & Industry, and the Department of Foreign Affairs. It is also a follow through event to the World Medical Tourism and Global Health Congress held on 9-12 September 2008 at Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco, California wherein representatives from the government and Philippine private hospitals actively participated in. In this event, the Philippine delegation made a strong presentation on the Philippines’ quality health care, highlighting the country’s strong points such as, the high expertise and experience of Filipino medical professionals and their unequalled caring towards their patients.
For more information on the health and wellness summit, please check www.philippinehealthandwellnesstourism.com.
