Category Archives: Medical Tourism/Health Tourism

Medical Tourism Index ranks Israel alongside Canada and UK as one of most attractive destinations for medical travel in 2014. Industry generates more than NIS 1 billion a year in income

Photo Caption: Hadassah Medical Center, Jerusalem

Canada, the United Kingdom, Israel, Singapore and Costa Rica are among the most attractive destinations in the world for medical tourism in 2014, according to a global index published last week by the Medical Tourism Association.

The survey was conducted among 5,000 Americans by the International Healthcare Research Center (IHRC).

According to the Medical Tourism Index (MTI), medical travel to Italy, South Korea, Spain, Colombia and Dubai is also gaining appeal.

The MTI measures the attractiveness of a country for medical travel along three key dimensions and 34 underlying criteria.

Canada topped the lists for “country environment” and “medical tourism costs,” Costa Rica for “destination attractiveness,” and Israel for “medical facility and service.”

According to Renée-Marie Stephano, president of the Medical Tourism Association, the MTI “makes a significant contribution so far as providing unbiased information about medical tourism across the globe.

“This information provides not only what patients need to know when planning a medical journey overseas, but serves as a valuable tool for governments, employers and insurance companies, hospitals and doctors, facilitators and related travel and hospitality industries throughout the world.”

The 2014 MTI considered 30 countries – about 60% of the world’s population – from Africa, Asia, Central America, Middle East, South America and North America.

The Medical Tourism Association is an international nonprofit trade organization for the medical tourism and healthcare industry made up of top international hospitals, healthcare providers, medical travel facilitators, insurance companies, and other affiliates, which is says are committed to promoting the highest level of quality healthcare to patients in a global environment.

Israel’s Finance Ministry decided recently to impose taxes on medical tourism. According to the proposal, a tax of 15% will be imposed on medical tourists, in addition to an 18% value-added tax on medical tourism services.

According to estimates, Israel’s medical tourism industry generates more than NIS 1 billion (about $250 million) a year in income and attracts some 60,000 tourists to the country, including patients and their family members or escorts.

Tourism Minister Uzi Landau has slammed the Treasury’s plan to impose taxes on medical tourism, saying that the move “will cause irreversible damage to the tourism industry and to Israel’s image in the world.”

According to the minister, the main victims of the taxation will be Israeli patients and small and medium-sized businesses, as the income from medical tourism allows hospitals to purchase modern equipment and allows the Treasury to allot resources to improve the service to Israel’s citizens.

Landau defined medical tourism as a goose laying golden eggs and said that imposing taxes on the industry would be like killing that goose.

“There is no logic in imposing a series of decrees on a field which contributed, first and foremost, to Israeli patients, to small and medium-sized businesses, to the state’s coffer and to its image,” he said.

“This decision will not only fail to put money in the state coffer, but will also lead to the loss of more than one billion shekels a year in income.”

Reprinted with permission from Ynet News

source: http://www.shalomlife.com / Shalom Life / Home> Health> Israel / by Danny Sadeh / December 09th, 2014

THE Cebu Health and Wellness Council (CHWC) has recently met with the diplomatic corps in Cebu to reintroduce the medical tourism packages that is being promoted in Cebu.

Patria Aurora Roa, Cebu Province tourism consultant, said the meeting was meant to inform the consuls here that Cebu is actively promoting medical tourism besides Mice, leisure, eco-tourism and culture and heritage, which they can promote to the country they represent.

CHWC is a private sector-led association of industry stakeholders that sets the direction in developing and promoting the health and wellness industry in Cebu.

She noted that tourists come to Cebu for light medical procedures and dental services.

“Our advantage is that we are cheaper in the medical procedures but not in accommodation. However, Cebu has plenty of alternatives. In fact, some tourists who come here, for instance, choose the homestay,” said Roa, who is the region’s former tourism chief.

Latvian consul Robert Joseph said the country has a strong potential to get a bigger share in the regional medical tourism market because of the country’s brand of hospitality, highly-qualified English-speaking medical professionals, competitive pricing in medical services and numerous tourist attractions like beaches that are ideal for recuperation.

On top of foreign tourists, another captured market of this tourism product are the overseas Filipino workers.

Ranking

The Philippines was among the top 15 medical tourism destinations in 2010. The country is ranked 11th in medical tourism, which has 80,000 medical tourists but trails behind Thailand (1st), Singapore (2nd), and Malaysia (5th), according to the state think thank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS).

Thailand has the top position among the medical tourism destinations, with a total of 1.2 million medical tourists in 2010. Other Asean countries have shown exemplary performance, with Singapore having 600,000 and Malaysia with 350,000 medical tourists that same year.

To improve the country’s status, Oscar Picazo, senior research consultant at PIDS, recommends the establishment of a coordinating body among offices and agencies involved in the medical tourism industry. A marketing campaign for the premier hospitals included under the Philippine Medical Tourism Program (PMTP) must also be crafted and implemented.

Recommendations

Attractive websites should also be developed to promote medical tourism instead of relying on less enticing news items and blogs. Medical facilities should also work toward international affiliations for quality assurance and vibrant medical campaign.

The industry, he added, should also take advantage of the Long Stay Visitor Visa
Extension, which is good for 36 months and urged local carriers to develop medical airline packages to attract more foreign tourists. He also called for stronger ties between hospitals and international health insurance companies will also build a responsive and transparent pricing of medical services.

Philippine hospitals, on the other hand, are advised to get accreditation from the Joint Commission International (JCI), as the country is still lagging behind in terms of JCI-accredited hospitals among its Asian competitors.

The JCI-accredited hospitals in Cebu are Chong Hua Hospital and Cebu Doctor’s Hospital.

source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph / Sun Star, Cebu / Home> Cebu> Business / by Katlene O Cacho / Wednesday – December 03rd, 2014