By MARS W. MOSQUEDA JR.
[ Manila Bulletin Online ] January 11, 2009
CEBU CITY – Cebu’s positioning as the top medical tourism destination in Asia is further boosted with the proposal to convert two world-class resorts in the island of Mactan into a multi-billion world-class medical center and resort.
The multi-billion medical center and resort, initially named as New Vision Medical Center and Resort, will sit on a 10-hectare resort property currently occupied by two world-class beach resorts, said Dr. Jose Sollano, the brains behind the project.
Sollano said his group is now looking for investors to pour in between P15 to P20 billion to materialize the plan of infusing a medical center with resort amenities, the first of its kind in the country and in Asia.
"The facility will allow patients, who are usually confined in the four walls of their hospital room, to roam around the resort and breath fresh air or enjoy other amenities," said Sollano.
Aside from top-of-the-line medical facilities, the proposed New Vision Medical Center and Resort will have sports and recreational facilities, a fully-landscaped resort ambiance, a mini zoo and a butterfly farm, beauty center and spas, mini mall, and other resort-type amenities.
"The medical tourism is starting to boom in the country and there is no other place that we could think of for a medical resort except Cebu, with its natural resources and tourism infrastructure," Sollano said.
Sollano said his group is now negotiating with foreign and local investors who are eager to invest in the country’s medical tourism industry, although he said no one has expressed full commitment to the project yet.
He, however, is hopeful that the facility will be materialized this year as the country is starting to position itself as one of Asia’s top destination for health, wellness, and medical tourism.
Sollano also said Cebu has enough medical schools that produce top caliber doctors and nurses who will be enticed to work in the facility.
He said target clients for the medical resort are foreigners and locals who are seeking high quality service that can even exceed that of other countries.
Meanwhile, Angel Bognot, chairman emeritus of the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies said the proposed facility will further push Cebu as top medical tourism destination in Asia.
"There is a market for this type of facility as medical tourism is starting to gain grounds in the country," said Bognot, who is also the Philippine representative of the World Health Tourism Congress scheduled in Manila on March 26 to 28.
Bognot said the idea should serve as motivation factor for government to market and promote the country as top medical tourism destination in Asia.
The proposal to convert two Cebu resorts into a medical resort comes in the right time, Bognot said, as the country hosts the World Health Tourism Congress in March.
