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The Zimbabwe Tourism Authority has stepped up efforts to market the country’s tourism by spreading its focus towards promoting health tourism. The authority has invited a South African qualified aromatherapist, reflexologist and sports massage therapist, Ms Thandeka Balani, who will be exhibiting her skills at this year’s edition of the Sanganai/Hlanganani Expo which begins tomorrow.

Speaking to Herald Business yesterday, ZTA head of corporate affairs Mr Sugar Chagonda said by inviting Ms Balani, his organisation believes that for tourism to grow the country obviously needs healthy people as well.

“When talking of Zimbabwe as a world of wonders, our first wonder is our people and culture hence the need to ensure that they are healthy in order to meaningfully promote the other facets of our tourism.

“Thandeka’s coming on board for this year’s expo is therefore a positive first step towards promoting health tourism and as such we would also want to encourage health experts from beyond our borders to come to Zimbabwe during such events like Sanganai/Hlanganani to promote their expertise while also benefiting locals,” he said.

Ms Balani expressed confidence that her expertise will go a long way towards growing her business beyond South Africa while she also said she wants to make a difference towards promoting the well-being of Zimbabweans.

“I am optimistic that during the Sanganai/Hlanganani Expo I am going to showcase my abilities in a manner that will promote my business, while also exchanging ideas with locals so that when I go back home I would be in a better position to tell the Zimbabwean story as it is,” she said.

Ms Balani added that her passion was to see that the Zimbabwean people can fully benefit from her exploits and also expressed interest in opening a massage parlour in the country describing the atmosphere as tranquil.

She is also a qualified Bowen technician (a special technique for chronic injuries that helps to restore shifted muscles and align bones in their correct positions), and is the first and only black woman technician in East London, South Africa.

ZTA’s bid to market and promote health tourism comes after the successful launch of township tourism at the end of last year in the high-density suburb of Highfield in Harare given its history in terms of the revolutionary struggle.

source: http://www.allafrica.com / allAfrica.com / Home> Southern Africa> Travel> Zimbabwe / The Herald / October 09th, 2013

The hospital sector is capable of yielding four times of the revenue generated by the hotel industry for the same amount of investment, a leading hospital management expert told the Hotel Show Dubai 2013 at the Dubai World Trade Centre on Sunday.

The cost of putting up a hospital bed is almost the same as the cost of creating a room in a five-star hotel, but there is a huge difference in the revenue potential of the two, he pointed out.

The potential for investments in hospitals was highlighted by Raza Siddiqui, CEO of Arabian Healthcare Group, while making a presentation on the medical tourism potential of Dubai and the UAE. Dubai, in particular, offers great scope for investments in high-quality medical infrastructure, he pointed out.

According to Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) estimates, 10 million tourists visiting the UAE, spending an average 3.8 days in 80,000 hotel rooms, generate Dh20 billion-revenue. This makes an average of Dh 250,000 per bed for a regular hotel and Dh500,000 for a five-star hotel annually. The total investment required for creating a room in a five-star property is estimated at Dh 2 million, which is roughly the project cost required for putting up a hospital bed in a premium hospital.

“While the average revenue per bed in a five-star hotel is Dh500,000, the average revenue per bed in a premium hospital is Dh2 million per year. That is the kind of difference in revenue yields, although the cost of creating the two facilities is the same,” Siddiqui pointed out.

Given Dubai’s superior hospitality sector and its excellent healthcare infrastructure, the Emirate is in a strong position to develop medical tourism as a major component of its tourism industry. There is a need and the opportunity for investing in 5,000 new hospital beds, Siddiqui said.

According to him, out of the 40 million transit passengers at the Dubai airport, on an average 1,500 to 2,000 patients daily change flights to travel to medical tourism destinations daily. With Dubai’s excellent hospitality and healthcare infrastructure, it should be possible to attract some of them to seek treatment here.

“Medical tourism can complement the thriving tourism industry in the region. If the Emirate targets even 500,000 medical tourists per year, the revenue contribution can be in the region of Dh10 billion, which is 50 per cent of the earnings by the tourism industry,” Siddiqui said.

“Dubai can hope to position itself alongside Singapore and Thailand, both of which offer quality healthcare and good hospitality infrastructure. India has good healthcare, but it is not so good in terms of hospitality. Dubai has very good hospitality and good healthcare,” he said.

India is among the countries that receive one million or more medical tourists in a year, the others being Thailand, Mexico, US and Singapore.

India is expected to receive one million medical tourists this year with an annual spend of $5 billion, making an average of $5,000 per patient. According to McKenzie projections for 2013, the regional market for medical tourism is worth $20 billion out of a total industry size of $100 billion.

The global medical tourism market is estimated to grow with a compounded annual growth rate of 9.5 per cent from 2012 to 2018. Over 50 countries have identified medical tourism as a national industry. ___

Medical tourism is defined as an act of travel of patients from their home country to other destinations for availing medical services.

High healthcare costs in developed countries are driving many american, canadian and european citizens to countries like Mexico where high quality medical services are available at a  low cost.

These medical services range from cosmetic plastic surgeries to complicated surgeries such as  cardiac, orthopedics, neurosurgery and more.

Medical industry is growing significantly in developing countries that now count with  state of the art facilities, the latest technology and high quality medical services.

These facts, in combination with the growing elderly population has also contributed  to the development of medical tourism worldwide.

Financial and economic crisis in the U.S and other European countries coupled to the  increased number of uninsured senior population, is triggering the growth  of this market.

Today, there are approximately 50 million uninsured Americans willing to travel abroad  for affordable good quality medical care.

Globalization and internet communication are contributing to the fast growth of this  industry.

Right here in Merida, there are several hospitals with World Class equipment and facilities,  as well as talented doctors and surgeons, many of them with degrees earned in the U.S or Europe.

source: http://www.theyucatantimes.com / The Yucatan Times / Home> Headlines/Health / Friday – October 04th, 2013