The Department of Tourism of Philippines, proposes to link-up with tour operators to design tour packages that would merge treatment and check-ups with rest and recreation in the itinerary of tourists.

At the Bulong Pulungan forum ,Cynthia Carrion, the assistant secretary for Sports and Wellness of the Department of Tourism said, “We are now [coordinating] with the PTAA (Philippine Travel Agencies Association) and Naitas (The National Association of Independent Travel Agencies.”

Carrion also said that the plan proposed to take the visiting foreigners on a trip to the country’s famous white beaches in addition to a check-up or surgery, at a much cheaper price than what is presently offered by Bumrungrad Hospital, which is Thailand’s most sought after medical services provider.

The Bumrungrad International has recently procured a 40-percent share and also acquired the management of the 2year-old Asian Hospital in Alabang, Muntinlupa City in the Philippines.

Thelma Clemente,the President of the Philippine Hospital Association, expressed that the Philippines was well equipped to excel in the medical tourism industry. “We have competitive English-speaking staff who can give [the] tender, loving, health care that most patients abroad are looking for.”

There are around 2,000 hospitals all over the country, 160 of which were in the tourist center, the metro Manila, added Clemente. But the hospitals in the country have to improve upon their facilities to achieve this aim and to become the “newest hub of medical tourism in Asia,”she

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