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One aspect of diversification in the
hospitality and tourism sector in reaction to consumer and external influences
is the flourishing of medical and wellness tourism.
Foster (2010) defined medical tourism
as “the practice of traveling across international borders to obtain health
care. This includes use of hospitals, clinics and spas specialized in fields,
such as surgery (e.g. heart, liver, kidneys, joint replacement, eye and dental
care, cosmetology) and rehabilitation towards recovery those recovering from
illness or surgery. Besides the lower cost, shorter waiting lists, and the
possibility for patients to combine treatment with conventional tourism
attractions like climate, regional cuisine, local activities and culture, the
growing option to link a medical stay with time in a resort for convalescence
makes medical tourism important.”
On the other hand, Mueller and
Kaufmann (2001) explained that wellness tourism means “the sum of all
relationships and phenomena is resulting from a journey and residence by people
whose main motivation is to preserve or promote their health.” Increased
interest in fitness, disease prevention, maintaining good health, new age
remedies and alternative treatments to alleviate various types of stress are
key factors behind the rising use of spas worldwide. As cited in Foster (2010),
the Global Spa Economy Study reported in 2007 that Asia-Pacific had 21,566
spas, 363,649 employees, and revenues of $11.38 billion, making it the
fastest-growing spa industry worldwide.
Core offerings
In 2010, the ILO paper on the
Developments and Challenges in the Hospitality and Tourism Sector indicated
that “medical tourism is one of the core offerings in countries such as
Colombia, Costa Rica, Estonia, Hungary, India, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia,
Lithuania, Malaysia, Poland, Thailand and Tunisia.” It estimated that 60,000
British tourists traveled abroad in 2009 for medical purposes: to receive
dental care (43 percent), cosmetic surgery (29 percent) or other surgeries, and
infertility treatment (28 percent). Some 750,000 Americans traveled abroad for
medical purposes in 2007. India attracted many of these British and American
medical tourists, as well as patients from neighboring countries such as
Bangladesh, China and Pakistan. In Southeast Asia, Thailand had up to one
million medical tourists per year, Malaysia more than 85,000, while Singapore
plans to attract one million foreign patients per year by 2012. A private
hospital in Bangkok, Thailand, for example, Bumrungrad Hospital, had more than
one million patients per year; 42 percent of whom were international patients
from over 190 counties and provide 55 percent of the hospital’s revenue.
By 2012, the Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry reported that the medical tourism market is
expected to grow from $22.2 billion (5.2 percent of GDP) to $69 billion
(respectively, 6.2 percent and 8.5 percent of GDP). In another report by
HealthCore (2012), medical tourism is projected to achieve an annual growth
rate of about 19 percent in the next three years.
In response, our Asian neighbors, like
India, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, have made strategic moves to create
the necessary infrastructure and policy and incentive framework for attracting
visitors to go to them for medical and wellness services. In some countries,
hospitals are linked to wellness clinics so patients can have personal
assistance for post-hospital recovery. This condition is likely to require
better care skills, as well as the adapting of service skills to respond to
international tourist expectations.
A premier destination
The Philippine government, the private
sector, and other stakeholders need to give serious attention to said
development and a number of local challenges, as reported by various groups, so
that the Philippines could also soon become a premier medical and wellness
tourism destination. First of these challenges is the continuing brain drain where
competent Filipino health care practitioners leave with a heavy heart for
greener pastures abroad. Second, we lack adequate state-of-the-art medical
equipment and constant upgrading of medical facilities to be at par with
world-class standards. Third, we lack marketing strategy to create packages
that integrate medical and wellness services offering complete healing and
revitalization for foreign patients. Fourth, we lack concrete policies and
administrative foundations across broad-ranging areas to facilitate the
in-bound entry of medical tourists and to make medical tourism a preferred
investment area. Fifth, we do not have clear policies, mechanisms, and
incentives to install accreditation and certification quality systems and
support protocols to enhance the acceptability of the Philippines as a medical
and wellness tourism destination.
There are many good reasons (Filipino
innate hospitality, pleasant tropical weather, beautiful tourist spots, rich
healing practices, and being home to some of the best hospitals and stand alone
specialty clinics) to be optimistic about the Philippines’ chances to compete
in the global market. If we act soon enough and mobilize the collective support
of all stakeholders, particularly the government and the private sector, our
joint coherent and sustainable efforts could develop our country into a
preferred hub in the global healthcare market, given the reality that our main
competitive advantage is the world-class quality of medical services rendered
the Filipino way of care and compassion by our health care professionals at a
comparatively reasonable cost to patients.
Dr. Divina Edralin is a full professor
at the Management and Organization Department of the Ramon V. del Rosario
College of Business of De La Salle University. She teaches Human Behavior in
Organizations, Strategic Human Resource Management, Labor Relations and
Research. She is also a management consultant to SME’s, schools, and NGOs. She
may be reached at divina.edralin@dlsu.edu.ph.
The views expressed above are the
author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of De La Salle
University, its faculty and administrators.
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