• The Medical Travel International Business Summit will be held on May 2-4, 2011.
  • Foreign companies are choosing Costa Rica to seek medical treatment for their employees.
  • Tourists prefer Costa Rica due to the quality and cost of its medical services.

Besides coming to Costa Rica to visit its beaches and volcanoes, tourists take advantage of this opportunity to seek odontological and esthetic treatments, or the so-called electives such as cardiology, orthopedics, urology, and preventive medicine.

This is called Medical Tourism, one of the fastest-growing market niches at an international level. In 2009, Costa Rica welcomed 30,000 visitors who came with this purpose.

The quality and costs of these national medical services attract foreign companies seeking medical treatment for their employees, mostly from American companies because these services are very expensive there.

Therefore, for the second time, the country will host the most important Latin American Medical and Health Summit. The Medical Travel International Business Summit will be held on May 2-4 in San José and Guanacaste and will be attended by 10 countries in the region.

The purpose is to provide Costa Rica and Latin America with leading destinations for medical trips. It will be an opportunity to develop new business between medical and tourism providers and corporate buyers such as insurance companies, medical and tourism associations, and governmental bodies.  

"The ICT, after declaring health tourism of public interest, is encouraging the growth of this new niche, strengthening resources and skills that Costa Rica has developed over years of investment in the health sector and tourism infrastructure. This congress will allow insurance companies, health and tourism companies as well as foreign consumers to be aware of the offering in this field," said the Minister of Tourism, Carlos Ricardo Benavides.

In the country, the Congress will be supported by the Council for the International Promotion of Costa Rican Medicine, the Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Health, and medical and tourism organizations.

"For the second time, Costa Rica will become an international showcase for the growing industry of medical trips. Thanks to its excellent hospital infrastructure, highly qualified professionals, personalized care, post-surgical care at specialized facilities, and a world-known natural and tourism environment, the country is proposed as the solution to growing problems in terms of costs and waiting lists faced by the health systems from the most developed countries," said MD. Jorge Cortés, President of PROMED.

The congress will hold conferences and workshops about Medical Tourism covering topics such as service quality and patient safety, risk minimization, and benefit plant management.

Participants will be able to take tours to the clinics and hospitals to verify the quality of their facilities and medical equipment and services. They will also travel to Guanacaste, where they will visit the natural beauties of this province and participate in workshops at the Hilton Papagayo Hotel.

In San José, at the Convention Center at the Ramada Herradura Hotel there will 75 speakers; 500 participants (200 foreigners) are expected to attend, from hospitals, clinics, hotels, and recovery centers. Canada, Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Panama have already confirmed their attendance.

During the Medical Travel International Business Summit Medical Travel, Costa Rica will have the opportunity to get closer to strategic markets for the growth of the medical tourism sector, including the United States, Canada, and Europe.

The first medical congress on Medical Tourism in Costa Rica was held in April 2009 with the attendance of more than 450 participants.

For further information and registration, visit our website at  www.themedicaltravelsummit.com or write to our e-mail info@themedicaltravelsummit.com.

Also contact María Fernanda Fernández, journalist, phone number 88 69 66 17, e-mail Mfernanda.fm@gmail.com, or Massimo Manzi, PROMED Executive Director, phone number 22 01 52 63, e-mail director@promedcostarica.com

About PROMED
The Council for the International Promotion of Costa Rican Medicine, PROMED, is a private non-profit organization that coordinates the efforts made to ensure the quality of services provided by the national health industry and to promote them at an international level to consolidate the country as a leading destination and international medical center for health tourism. To attain this goal, PROMED has developed regulations and promoted the certification of service providers. The organization includes health professionals, tourism service providers, health service providers, the academic sector, and other goods and services companies from these sectors.

As a benchmark entity in terms of health tourism, PROMED encourages the coordination between the private and public sectors to achieve the international consolidation of this destination, an effort that is contributing to its role as a private counterpart of the Medical Tourism Cluster. The PROMED seal is the first quality guarantee seal a country has ever developed.

Please Click here to request more information.