Wellness council in Cebu formed
By Cris Evert Lato
Cebu Daily News
First Posted 15:54:00 06/27/2008
International tourists are further assured of quality and affordable medical and wellness packages with the establishment of the Cebu Health and Wellness Council (CHWC).
“We are organizing our efforts in selling Cebu as prime medical tourism destination by 2010,” said CHWC president Oscar Tuazon.
The CHWC is composed of hospitals, travel and tour operators, hotels, resorts, restaurants, spa and wellness centers, the Department of Tourism and the Department of Trade and Industry among others.
Tuazon, who is also the administrator of the Cebu Doctors' Group of Hospitals, said the three hospitals in Cebu—Chong Hua, Cebu Doctors and Perpetual Succour—have served a steady flow of international tourists who come to Cebu for medical services such as heart transplant for the past 8 to 10 years.
“We have been getting a lot of inquiries on medical services may it be executive check-up, heart surgeries or organ transplants. Even without advertising, we are getting our share of medical travelers,” he said.
He said tourists can save money from medical surgeries done in the Philippines.
Tuazon said a typical open heart surgery in the United States will cost between $85,000 and $135,000 (P3.8 million and P6 million at P44.5 per dollar).
It costs less than $80, 000 or around P3.5 million to undergo the same procedure in the three hospitals in Cebu, he said.
“Add $25, 000 for 5-day stay at Shangri-La or Plantation Bay to recuperate, airfare, land transportation, meals and other miscellaneous expenses, you can really save a lot,” Tuazon said.
According to its primer, Cebu consistently ranks as the top tourism destination in the country and accounts for 50 percent of the foreign arrivals.
With the convergence of different stakeholders in the council, Tuazon said they are positive that more clients will visit Cebu and take advantage of this “concierge of services.”
“The idea of the council is to create a one-stop shop package. This is one, big, cohesive effort of all stakeholders,” he told reporters in an interview.
“The primary service package is medical procedure bundled with rest, recuperation and recreation activities.”
For Cebu, he said, tour destinations are its unique selling points which entice more tourists to come here despite competition from countries such as India, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.
Tuazon said after the medical procedure, tourists can relax and pamper themselves in the different resorts in Cebu.
Antoinette Panopio, marketing director of Perpetual Succour Hospital, said clients will feel safe with the formation of the council upon realizing that all three hospitals form a cluster.
“They are assured that they will be taken care of from the time they arrive to the time they leave the country,” Panopio said.
The council will launch a website soon as part of their effort to give prospective clients a preview of the services which hospitals, hotels and restaurants can offer, according to dentist Clarissa Jane F. Pe.
The CHWC is expected to be formally launched before the year ends.
The council participated in yesterday's 2nd Philippine International Tourism Fair (PITF) to conduct a “test market and create tailor-made packages for clients.”
Acting CHWC secretary Nelia Navarro said this is the first effort of all medical tourism stakeholders to create a unified marketing channel.
Navarro, who is DTI provincial director, said the plan to create a council was finalized in February 2008 during a roadmapping seminar with the DTI serving as the technical working group.
“We are already in our final stage for SEC (Security and Exchange Commission) and we meet at least once a month at Waterfront to discuss,” she said.
The council's core group includes Spa and Wellness Association of Cebu, National Association of Independent Travel Agencies, DTI, DOT, Chi Spa, Philippine Dental Association and Hotel. /With a report from Correspondent Ara Chawdhury
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