LETTER TO THE EDITOR Dear Editor, Sint Maarten: could become a leading medical tourism destination starting in 2015 According to Florida-based consulting firm Deloitte Development, medical tourism is considered the Caribbean’s fastest-growing segment, which includes patients from the U.S. mainland. Medical tourism is one of the fastest growing tourism sectors in the world. The leading industry organization Patients Beyond Borders (PBB), estimates of global medical tourism is growing at 25 per cent to 35 per cent per year, while Deloitte estimates a 13 per cent growth by the United States of America by mainland patients, and in 2012 this group was expected to number over 1.6 million. The global economic environment since the 2008 international financial market crash, has not yielded or yielded very little in economic growth during the past six years, and the impact internationally has also been felt on Sint Maarten as well where growth has been low or flat. This of course does not bode well for those who enter the job market on an annual basis. Country Sint Maarten needs to see an economic impetus and medical tourism is an area worth pursuing. The private sector foreign investment/investor interests has been shown, but we need to move forward in providing the necessary inputs that would allow this sector and the country to become a leading medical tourism destination in the north eastern Caribbean. 2015 is just around the corner, and the nation is looking for an economic push that would create employment opportunities and generate additional business for the national economy. The Puerto Rico Government via its Economic Development & Commerce (DDEC) department is making medical tourism a top priority turning the island into one of the world’s top markets. Sint Maarten also has an entity known as the Economic Development Corporation (EDC). Puerto Rico’s plan of action for medical tourism entails the creation of 3,000 new jobs over the next three years (2015-2017), US$200 million in additional economic activity, and the treatment of 30,000 patients from outside of the island. To carry out Puerto Rico’s medical tourism economic promotion strategy, the island has established the Medical Tourism Corporation which comprises of representatives from the Puerto Rico Trade & Export Co., Puerto Rico Tourism Co., Health Department, Cardiovascular Center and members of the medical community. The Puerto Rico Medical Tourism Corp. is seeking private sector proposals that would manage the flow of patients and providers and market the island as a leading medical tourism destination in the Caribbean. The Puerto Rico Government will provide seed money for the first couple of years in order to get this economic sector moving forward. Puerto Rico statistics show that 15,000 medical tourists visit the island annually, spending an average of US$10,000. Family members or a friend who also travel along with the patient adds an additional economic injection of close to US$1000 which is spent on lodging, meals and transportation. The Medical Tourism Association (MTA) is a global non-profit organization for the medical tourism and international patient industry. The MTA works with healthcare providers, governments, insurance companies, employers and other stakeholders of healthcare with respect to medical tourism, international patient, and healthcare initiatives. Puerto Rico recently signed an agreement with MTA to provide training, consulting and certification services as the part of the island’s new strategy to develop medical tourism. The program kicks off in December 2014 and will run until June 2015. The International Medical Tourism Center (IMTC) from Costa Rica that offers medical and dental travel services, in 2013 stated that the medical tourism business in that country has grown to a nearly US$300 million industry out of an over US$100 billion global business. According to PBB, the 10 countries in the lead in attracting tourists for medical treatment, and offering costs that are 25 to 90 per cent lower than on the U.S. mainland are Brazil, Costa Rica, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey. Sint Maarten has the potential to become a leading medical tourism destination with the first major steps being taken in 2015 to build such a destination. We already have the flight connections; and we can offer patients to combine their health-related stay on the island with our well established leisure and entertainment sectors. One of the most important benefits for the people of the country will be having access to medical specialists here on the island; so besides the creation of job opportunities, economic activity across the board for the tourism sector; the people will have world-class medical care which we now have to travel abroad to receive. Let’s make 2015 the year of new opportunities and progress. Roddy Heyliger
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 00:34:27 +0000
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