by Klaus Doring
Since living in the Philippines for good, I have always observed this country’s world-class physicians, very often a modern technology and the so very unique brand of caring and compassion of Filipinos. No wonder that medical and wellness tourism in the Philippines is becoming more and more important as the country positions itself as a premier global destination.
I was happy to be informed that the Philippines will be hosting the International Summit on Medical Travel, Wellness and Retirement (IMWell Summit) on October 12-15 at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel. This four-day event features a full agenda that includes plenary sessions on Industry Perspectives, Opportunities and Risks, Regional Presentation of best Practices, Global Opportunities in the Retirement Industry, Marketing and Branding for Global Markets, Quality Management and the Continuity of Care, and the Future of Medical Tourism and Healthcare Travel Industry!
One thing is very clear: the pool of foreign tourist patients and health buffs in the Philippines is increasing dramatically. The Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT) is doing well, pushing tour operators to develop more medical and wellness tourism packages in Las Pinas that will cater to the growing number of foreign patients visiting this country these days and in the future.
I am not sure if this will materialize: The DOT honestly expects the Philippines to corner a total of three billion US$ (!) from the global medicial tourism industry by 2015, if more or less 200,000 foreign patients arrive here annually. I wish these figures will become true. Of course, the innate hospitality of the Filipinos is very well-known, but health care providers should also constantly upgrade their facilities to be at par with world-class standards. Kudos to the DOT for developing medical tourism, and to the public and private sectors forging partnerships towards the common goal of capturing global markets by offering the best health and wellness medical practitioners and facilities.
Mabuhay, and welcome to the Philippines!
+++
Last, but not the least: Property prices are going up and up. As one can read in a Philippine daily: The anticipation of clean and honest elections plus the peaceful transfer of power to a new administration is spurring growth in the real estate industry, with developers getting convinced that 2010 will be a good year! Analysts predict that consumer spending will help the Philippines recover early from the global crisis. As always: let’s hope and pray for it!
Email me at doringklaus@gmail.com or visit www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com or follow me in Facebook.
