Medical tourism is becoming increasingly important in today’s society. This year, for the first time, national and international experts will be represented in their own hall (26c), with exhibitor numbers from Turkey especially high. Numerous medical and health tourism experts from Germany and around the world will also be present, sharing their country knowledge.
M2 Health Travel is the main organizer of this segment. The Dünyagöz Eye Clinic is also exhibiting again at ITB Berlin. In addition to the many Turkish players, numerous international exhibitors are represented in the pavilion again. They include FIT Reisen, the European Historic Thermal Towns Association (EHTTA), The European Spa Association (ESPA), the association of the Health Tourism Industry (HTI), Ensana Health Spa Hotels and Bangkok Hospital.
Appeal for sustainable development of medical and health tourism
“Particularly after the Covid pandemic, medical tourism has played an important role in restoring health and well-being in society“, said Rika Jean-Francois, commissioner for Corporate Social Responsibility at ITB Berlin and in charge of this segment. “This segment is growing every year and keeping abreast with the latest findings and technologies“, she observed. At the same time it was important not to forget the challenges of climate change, she added. Rika Jean-Francois: “We need to rethink before restarting and must cooperate at global level. As with all the other tourism segments, medical tourism must become more sustainable.“
On Monday, March 6, 2023, Medical & Health Tourism at ITB Berlin will kick off with an ITB Clinic tour from 10 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. The program will feature an all-day tour for medical buyers and agencies, along with individual tours, presentations, lunch and transfers.
On Tuesday, March 7, 2023 at 10 a.m. on the Medical Stage in Hall 26c, Shaaz Mehmood, founder and CEO of Medijourn Solutions PVT Ltd., will speak about ’Promises and Hurdles in the Medical Value Travel Industry’. This will be followed by a presentation on ’Concierge Health Service – Diagnostic Telemedicine for the Tourism Industry’ by Dr. Clara Guerra, founder and chairman of the Board of Directors, Medikonsil-International. Afterwards, a presentation entitled ’Discover Albania’ will inform visitors about dental tourism. This will be followed by a panel discussion on ’Optimisation of SPA Hotel Operations’.
Together with ITB Berlin’s partners HTI, EHTTA and ESPA, the official opening of the Medical pavilion will take place from 1.45 to 2 p.m. At 1 p.m., media members can find out more and exchange views at the Medical Media Networking Lunch. The event is sponsored by the Catalan Tourist Board. Rika Jean-Francois, commissioner for Corporate Social Responsibility at ITB Berlin and in charge of this segment, and Thomas Bömkes, medical tourism adviser to ITB Berlin, Diversity Tourism GmbH, will hold the opening speech. In the evening, FIT Reisen will hold a networking reception at the pavilion in cooperation with ESPA and Quality in Health Prevention.
On Wednesday, March 8, 2023 on the pavilion stage, panel discussions as well as further presentations and interviews with experts will take place. Topics will include ’The Europe Question – how to attract Travelers from Europe’, and ’New Products in Health Tourism’, as well as robotics and sleep medicine. Barcelona is also promoting itself as a destination for medical tourism. Patrick Torrent, executive director of the Catalan Tourist Board, will hold a lecture entitled ’High value, high complexity’.
On Thursday, March 9, 2023, the focus will also be on learning, with lectures being held by international speakers on the pavilion stage. Events will kick off at 10 a.m. with a presentation on ’Digital Marketing and Building Trust for Medical Travel for Treatment’, followed by two interviews with experts and a presentation at 11.30 a.m. entitled ’Great Spas of Europe’. At 1.30 p.m., the panel discussion topic will be ’Intra-Region Medical Tourism’. Afterwards, visitors can find out more about medical tourism in India from a lecture entitled ’Heal in India’.
Medical, Wellness & Health track at the ITB Berlin Convention 2023
Connecting health and sports tourism: that will be the task of the Medical Tourism session at this year’s ITB Berlin Convention on Thursday, 9 March 2023 on the Green Stage in Hall 3.1.
At the Medical Wellness & Health track, starting at 3 p.m. a UNWTO Roundtable discussion on ’Connecting sports tourism to health’ will take place which will discuss ways to establish major synergies between sports and health. Taking part will be Patrick Torrent (executive director, Catalan Tourist Board), Simone Zagrodnik (executive director, European Historic Thermal Towns Association EHTTA), Kristjan Stanièiæ, M.Sc., director, Croatian National Tourist Board, Ceylan ªensoy, product marketing director, Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA), and Josip Paviæ, state minister of sports of Croatia. Ion Vilcu, director, Affiliate Members Department at UNWTO, will hold the opening speech.
Afterwards, marking International Women’s Day, the day’s last event at the convention is entitled ’Women and Medical Value Tourism’. Together with the female panel members, session moderator Ivana Kolar, CEO and founder of Tourizam365, will also talk about gender medicine.
