Philippines - Medical tourism earnings reach $1.3B

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines earned a total of US$1.3 billion from healthcare and wellness services from overseas foreign tourists and balikbayans who visited the country from the five-year period 2006 to 2010.

This was revealed by healthcare business intelligence firm Healthcore based on its comprehensive research in its recent briefing to the media.

It reported that the global medical and wellness tourism market has become one of the fastest growing sectors in the world economy, with revenues standing at approximately US$40 billion to as much as US$3 trillion according to various sources.

This vital information on this emerging industry is contained in the HealthCore Industry Report “The Philippine Medical Tourism Compendium.” The report contains far-reaching analysis of the key competitive strengths of the country in terms of its hospital and healthcare infrastructure, cost structure advantages, market segmentation, value propositioning and quality systems in relation to the global market.

“The Philippines has the potential to grab a bigger share of as much as US$1 billion to US$3 billion in annual revenues in the global medical tourism market by 2018 if it puts in place attractive investment environment that will enable the country to expand its healthcare infrastructure, more open and liberal travel arrangements for medical tourists and better and more extensive international marketing promotions programs,” Healthcore Executive Director & Chief Strategist Joyce Alumno declared.

Alumno bared during the media briefing that the 1st Global Healthcare Forum will be held on November 11, 2011 to present the findings of the report and to present various issues and developments that will impact on the Philippine medical tourism industry.

During the forum, senior officials from the Departments of Health and Tourism, and other concerned government agencies and from the medical and healthcare industry will converge to discuss the policy areas that need to be addressed if the country is to maximize its chances of becoming a hub for medical tourism in Asia. There is growing consensus that the medical tourism sector is the next sunrise industry for the Philippines, after the much-heralded BPO sphere.

International research firm Deloitte, the study added, has identified the Philippines as one of the emerging players in the multi-billion dollar industry, which currently is dominated in Asia by Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

Expensive medical treatment costs as well as limited healthcare coverage especially in countries such as the US, Australia and the UK, along with capacity constraints in these countries’ healthcare facilities, have driven their aging population to seek more affordable, yet comparable medical and wellness services overseas.

The Philippines, Alumno explained, boasts of world-class medical infrastructure and facilities and well-trained and proficient doctors, nurses and medical personnel. The top three tertiary hospitals located in Metro Manila have put up hotel-quality facilities that will cater to not just the high-end Filipino patients, but also the foreign medical patients who have opted to come to the Philippines for their healthcare needs.

She added that “the country possesses the added competitive advantage of having English-speaking and compassionate and caring medical personnel.” Most Americans, she noted, are familiar with the friendliness and caring attitude of Filipino nurses in the US.

Alumno recommended the medical and tourism sectors and other industry stakeholders to get their act together and to craft the Philippine Medical Tourism Roadmap to develop broad-ranging strategies and facilitate the implementation of programs in the area of healthcare infrastructure, quality management and international accreditation, liberalization of visa restrictions for the medical traveler and international marketing and promotions.

She concluded that medical tourism has the potential to contribute significantly to the country’s economy, much like the Business Process Outsourcing industry, while retaining its medical talents in the country and reducing the brain drain and its social and economic costs.

Philippine Global Healthcare Forum

Manila Bulletin

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