Introduction
This article is related to a major international meeting on “Caribbean Health & Wellness Tourism” hosted jointly by The Caribbean Export Development Agency (Caribbean Export) and Trade Facilitation Office Canada (TFO Canada).
Attracting leaders from Canada and 10 Caribbean nations, the meeting explored ways that these countries can work together to develop Caribbean health and wellness services for use by North American consumers.
Original article at: TravelDailyNews.com
Essay by Rahul Wadhwa
Master in Tourism Destination Management student 2008/2009
With the rise in North American health costs,the governments of Canada and several Caribbean nations are exploring how Caribbean medical tourism can be a smart solution . As medical experts say, the health cost in the Caribbean is about 50 – 80 percent less than in Canada and the U.S so providing access to high quality and affordable health care will be a solution.
The Barbados Minister of Tourism recently told his audience that his island nation needs to exploit the US$40 billion health and wellness industry. “It (health and wellness tourism) is growing at a much faster rate than global tourism – which is the fastest growing industry in the world – so we need to add the health tourism niche to our other tourism offerings,” said Minister of Tourism.
As the Caribbean has a long standing relationship with Canada, the proximity to the United States and first rate healthcare and facilities gives it an opportunity to become leader in Health Tourism. The demand for Health and Wellness tourism from North America is going to explode in the coming years so the timings are the best for Caribbean to be a primary destination.
TFO Canada was very pleased and delighted with the meetings outcome and thought that this will help pave the way forward for development of this important and new industry. Phillip Kelly, Project Manager of TFO Canada said the Barbados meeting was part of a broader ongoing Canadian-Caribbean initiative to foster advancement of various industries in the developing Caribbean nations.
The Caribbean is a wonderful and welcoming oasis for not only its professional healthcare and wellness services, but also its relaxing, tropical vacation options.
Some international health experts said that the Caribbean is well poised to be successful, but till now nobody was doing much about it taking into consideration the case study of Malaysia’s Medical Tourism Industry which has grown from its start in 2002 and serving 400,000 international patients annually.
The Caribbean nations may form a governing body to help oversee development of this fledgling and promising industry. Among the Caribbean nations that could join in are Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
Hey Rahul,
I think you chose an interesting topic with your article (Medical tourism), which is also what I elaborated on in mine :-).
Although there seems to be an increasing demand for medical tourism in the Caribbean nations, one could argue that the main market for this is Asia, including countries like Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and especially India as key country (often regarded as the most important global player).
Would you agree on that?
Greets, Eva