Nearly 90 tourism facilitators, health tourism organisations and health insurance companies from 18 countries recently gathered at the Centara Grand at CentralWorld in Bangkok for a “Thailand Medical & Wellness Tourism Trade FAM Trip 2012” organised by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
In addition to the meetings, the TAT also organised a three-day trip that provided an opportunity for the influential guests from around the world to experience Thai health and wellness providers, hospitals, spas, and specialised clinics first hand.
During the first day of the event, the visiting tourism facilitators had meetings with over 110 Thai medical and wellness providers to learn about the range of services available in the Kingdom.
“The Thailand Medical & Wellness Tourism Trade FAM Trip is the first trade event to target medical tourism organisations and health insurance companies,” announced TAT Governor Suraphon Svetasreni. “Thai medical providers are well prepared and ready to expand into the global market,” added Svetasreni.
Mrs. Vilaiwan Twichasri, Deputy Governor for Tourism Business and Products for the TAT, said, “Prospective buyers visiting Thailand are interested in a wide range of medical tourism products, including wellness spas, medical spas, and especially integrated medicine and anti-ageing products. Thai herbal medicines and therapy, as well as an array of Eastern medical knowledge, are also focal points for many international tourism operators, especially in the Russian market. The TAT believes that this is a great opportunity for the Thai health tourism sector, since the high standards of the Thai medical profession are well-known around the world.”
Governor Svetasreni concluded that, “The Thailand Medical & Wellness Tourism Trade FAM Trip 2012 has been an excellent opportunity for Thai medical providers to meet their international counterparts to help expand the market into countries such as China and Russia. The trip had helped to emphasise Thailand’s reputation – in the eyes of tourism facilitators from all over the globe – as the world leader in wellness tourism and beauty” he added.
The TAT believes that the Thai health and wellness tourism sector will help generate a significant portion of the total expected national tourism revenue of two trillion Baht in 2014.
