“Medical tourism is one of the most rapidly evolving healthcare trends in the world, particularly in Asia. In fact, Asia is fast becoming a major medical tourism hub despite the recent outbreaks of SARS and H1N1,” said Vishal Bali, CEO, Wockhardt Hospitals Group, India. “Healthcare Travel Exhibition & Congress was a meeting point for various stakeholders in the medical tourism industry who came together to look at the next wave and opportunities.”

Experts at the event said much of the growth in medical tourism is expected from Asia, especially in countries such as India, Singapore, South Korea and Thailand. Backed by government support and strong infrastructure, these countries are benefiting from patients coming from North America or Europe seeking cheaper treatment abroad.

Ruben Toral, President, International Medical Travel Association, spoke of key factors such as access, cost and quality of treatment that are driving the growth of the industry, as well as the challenges. "The medical tourism industry is in a transition phase, and clearly a lot more players are coming in. Although there is an increase in interest, the industry is also facing a lot of challenges, which we have to overcome. This has been a good platform from which to focus on the practical issues of the industry in transition,” said Toral, adding that among the key concerns is how to engage U.S. insurers.

Dr. Junaidi Bin Ismail, Manager, International Business Development, Prince Court Medical Centre Sdn Bhd, Malaysia, agreed that there is still much work to be done on medical tourism. "There was a lot of interaction and participation from delegates, exhibitors and speakers during the event. We concluded that the industry still has lots of space for improvement, and everyone needs to go back and work out solutions to resolve the current issues," he said.

The Healthcare Travel Exhibition & Congress is Asia’s premier event focusing on two of the world’s largest industries: healthcare and tourism. Organised by Informa Life Sciences, the event brought together professionals, government officials and decision makers from the healthcare, insurance and travel industries. More than 748 delegates and participants from 29 countries attended the event.

The third edition of Healthcare Travel Exhibition & Congress is being held 15-17 November 2009 at the Al Bustan Rotana, Dubai. For more information, please visit www.healthcare-travel.com