Medical travel: vital to maintaining demand

Recent findings have suggested that the multi-billion dollar medical travel sector will be the next best thing to drive demand as mainstream sectors become increasingly threatened.

Focus On Medical Travel- fad or focus for hotel operators and investors?, conducted by Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, found that hotel operators and investors are yet to tap into the medical travel sector’s full potential.

Currently, Asia drives the medical travel industry – in particular Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and India.

According to Mark Wynne Smith, CEO for Europe, Middle East & Africa at Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels, those countries have been developing first-class facilities with highly skilled medical specialists that have been trained abroad.

This results in the attraction of international tourists that want high-quality and relatively low-cost healthcare, said Smith.

Smith predicts that this market will expand increasingly in the future, with Eastern Europe, Turkey and Dubai already getting on the bandwagon.

Medical tourism will see travelers seeking for hotels and resort offering medical spas and rehabilitation at attractive destinations. There are already an estimated 120 spas, health clubs and clinics offering wellness treatments in Dubai alone.

“By 2015, the United Arab Emirates could be amongst the top spa destinations in the world with an estimated 200 hotels offering world-class facilities”

The research suggests that stakeholders ensure that the medical travel industry maintains accurate, high-quality and accessible information and care to garner a cemented reputation amongst travellers.

In turn, this will allow partnerships between hotel chains, property developers, airlines, insurance companies and financial institutions to tap the full potential of the medical travel sector.

“These partnerships are vital as medical travelers need the security and peace of mind provided by purchasing an all-inclusive package for their trip” concluded Smith.



Source: ETB


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