Residents of the New York metropolitan area can get a sneak peak of the Philippines and first-hand experience of some of the tropical paradise’s more alluring qualities – such as its delectable cuisine and soothing spa treatments at booth number 352 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center.

Renowned for unique spa treatments that combine indigenous techniques and elements of spirituality, the Philippines is most famous for hilot, a traditional Filipino-style deep tissue massage performed by an authentic manghihilot who uses mysticism and incantations while kneading the muscles to remove aches and pains.

An ancient Filipino art of healing, Hilot employs chiropractic manipulation and massage for the diagnosis and treatment of musculoligamentous and musculoskeletal ailments. Those who stop by the Philippine booth will be treated to a very special demonstration by a New York licensed masseur and masseuse.

Award-winning chefs and cookbook authors Amy Besa and Romy Dorotan of Cendrillon Restaurant in New York will be giving a talk on Philippine cuisine at 11:30am on Saturday, February 7. Food tasting with ube pan-de-sal filled with sumptuous pork & chicken adobo and the native ensaymadas will be available immediately after the presentation.

Entrance to this session is on a “first-come-first served” basis. The popular San Miguel beer and juices from the local mangoes, guyabano and kalamansi (tiny lemon-lime-like fruit rich in Vitamin C) will be available for tasting after the cooking demonstration.

The Philippine Department of Tourism will also be offering samples of “mangorind” – a candied puree of mango and tamarind – from booth 352. It is a special treat considering the world’s best-tasting mangoes are found in the Philippines.

“Our unique cultural background has given us an opportunity to excel in service-oriented areas,” said Emma Ruth Yulo, Director of the Philippine Department of Tourism in New York, noting that most cruise lines and many international five-star hotels and restaurants favor Filipino workers to ensure their discerning guests’ satisfaction with personable hospitality and superior attention to detail.

“Nowhere is this more true than in the pampering one receives at our luxury spas where soothing treatments blend with our tranquil atmosphere to create pure bliss and relaxation,” added Yulo, encouraging attendees from throughout the US and Canada to experience the Filipino philosophy on hospitality first-hand in the paradise where it originated.

Culture is an important element to any Philippine vacation as architectural marvels such as the Banaue Rice Terraces (pictured left), still preserved by the same indigenous Ifugao rice farmers who built it by hand more than 2,000 years ago, provide fascinating insight into the spirituality, pride and dedication of the Filipino character.
“The rice terraces are but one of eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites in our the country,” noted Yulo, urging visitors to include some of country’s historical treasures in their journey.

The Philippines is home to many luxury hotels and resorts throughout cosmopolitan Manila and many of its smaller tropical islands such as the beach-lined Panglao and Boracay, as well as Cebu, the Philippines’ oldest city where one can seek plantation-style accommodations with ultra attentive pampering at Plantation Bay Resort (right image).
All luxury hotels within the Philippines offer exceptional spa services, including beachside huts in many cases for the ultimate relaxation.

Five Shangri-La properties in Manila, Cebu and Boracay offer special Filipino treatments at the Chi Spa (first image in press release), while others, such as Panglao Island Nature Resort on the southwestern tip of Bohol, utilize locally-gathered ingredients to rejuvenate the skin and muscles while relaxing the body.

Private-island resort paradises abound in the Philippines with some of the most notable being El Nido Resorts (pictured left) and Amanpulo Resort in Palawan, and Badian Island Resort & Spa (bottom right image) on the southwestern coast of Cebu. These resorts offer an assortment of blissful and holistic spa packages, as well as other serenity-inducing programs such as yoga and meditation sessions for mental well being.

For the adventurous, the Philippines is home to the eerily beautiful Mount Pinatubo, site of the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, where both hot and cold springs are a gateway to euphoria and spa treatments utilize mineral-rich volcanic ash from the crater. Of particular interest is the mud-spa skillfully administered at the Mr. Pinatubo Spa Town in Clark, Pampanga (location of the former US Air Base).

For the second year in a row, Sanctuario Spa is nominated as Spa for Men of the Year, in recognition of its body and facial treatments that are designed specifically for men.

Sanctuario’s signature massage called the Sacred Tantric Massage, is also nominated as Holistic Treatment of the Year. This unique style of bodywork incorporates the use of Reiki energy, breath, tone and long flowing movements that work with the body’s natural flow and rhythm. The massage starts with a Reiki treatment of the chakras. Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by “laying on hands” and is based on the idea that an unseen “life force energy” flows through us and is what causes us to be alive.

The performance of the sacred tantric massage aims too awaken the Kundalini, which is a very powerful kind of energy that lies dormant at the base of the spine. When the Kundalini is awakened, it shoots all the way up through the body, through the main microcosmic spinal channel, and out of the Crown chakra. When this energy is tapped, specific healing channels and chakras are been opened, and you gain access to the unlimited healing energy from within yourself and the environment.

Jomar Fleras, president of Sanctuario Spa and past president of the Spa Association of the Philippines is again nominated as Spa Personality of the Year. Jomar Fleras was responsible in securing a European Union grant of Euro 578,197 that aims to internationalise the operation of spas in the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The grant will be used to enhance the capacity of 200 spa operators from the spa associations of the four countries in providing spa services that conform to European standards of spa operations and safety. The grant will also organize 8 business meetings between spa operators and travel operators that will help increase spa visits by European travellers. Over 4,000 spa therapists/trainers will be trained on European treatment and therapy techniques.

Sanctuario Spa is one of the Philippines’ premier spas. It is known as a holistic center for the promotion of oriental healing traditions that cater to the body, mind and soul. Sanctuario Spa is a member of The International SPA Association (ISPA), the voice of the spa industry which represents more than 1,700 health and wellness facilities and providers in 49 countries. It is also a founding member of the Spa Association of the Philippines and is accredited by the Department of Tourism. In 2005, Sanctuario Spa was voted as No. 1 Spa in the Philippines by the Consumers Choice Awards. It was also nominated for the Baccarat Awards of Asia Spa for Best Spa Treatment in 2005. In 2006, Sanctuario Spa was chosen as Asia’s Most Innovative Spa by the Global Excellence Awards. In 2007, Sanctuario Spa was nominated for Spa for Men of the Year and its CEO, Jomar Fleras was nominated as Spa Personality of the Year by Asia Spa Magazine. That same year, Fleras was given a Presidential Award as Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year by President Gloria Arroyo.

Sanctuario Spa’s main branch is cocooned at 1829 Jorge Bocobo Street, in the bohemian district of Malate, Manila. A majestic ancestral mansion built in the 1940s has been converted into a sprawling spa complex. Another branch is located at Canyon Woods, a posh residential golf resort overlooking the famed Taal Volcano. Its newly opened branch is at 30 Esguerra Street, South Triangle Quezon City. For more information call 4501127, 5219904 or Email spa@sanctuario.com.ph. Website is www.sanctuario.com.ph

The MediSpa housed at SM City Davao has forged a Partnership with Tianshi Philippines, Inc. said Ryann Arao, the spa marketing manager saying they will carry the services Tiens.

She said among the services they will offer on top of their line of products are the Tiens Health Mattress, Acumagic and Acupoint Pressure even as she said that they will also carry other products distributed by Tiens.

She said they will venture on pain management knowing that many of the Filipinos are suffering from pain due to inappropriate lifestyle behavior.

It may be recalled that diseases of Filipinos are caused by wrong lifestyle behavior where doctors recommend to their patient the modification of their style of living.

Tiens offers high quality lifestyle with health, happiness, beauty and affluence to over 12 million consumers worldwide.

According to Dr. Hector dela Cruz, spokesperson of Tiens during the Davao Business Forum held last Tuesday (July 29), the Tiens products are sold in 200 countries. Tiens is ISO accredited and their products are issued HACCP and Halal Certification. It develops health food, health care, beauty care and home care products.

Tiens meanwhile is a multinational group specializing in retail, tourism, finance, international trade and E-business.

Members of CHWC, particularly those offering hospital and dental services, observed a ’steady flow’ of
inquiries and walk-in patients long before they have formally organized themselves as a group.

They said various nationalities have made different inquiries about various services, such as executive check-ups, heart surgery, organ transplants and cosmetology.

The Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital and Perpetual Succour Hospital, both in Cebu City, have reported having accommodated European, American and Japanese patients

But Cebu will have to compete with long-established medical tourism areas in Asia, such as India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong. CHWC said it will take the lead in positioning the province as the ‘ultimate destination for quality medical and wellness tourism.

Medical tourism involves people traveling to other places to obtain medical, dental and surgical care while enjoying the areas’ other attractions.

CHWC chairman Oscar Tuason, also administrator of Cebu Doctors’ University Hospital, said medical tourism revenues reached 40 billion dollars in 2000 in Asia alone.

In 2006, Asia posted about 120 billion dollars in revenues from medical tourism. The sector has a projected annual growth rate of 20 percent.

Tuason, in his presentation during the Tourism Congress at the Cebu International Convention Center, said Thailand recently earned 470 million dollars from 600,000 nationalities from the United States, United Kingdom and the Middle East who underwent cosmetic surgery, dental treatment, eye surgery, kidney dialysis and kidney transplants from various Thai medical institutions.

He said foreign patients prefer medical treatment outside their home country due to lower costs.

He cited heart valve replacement as example. The procedure can cost a patient 120,000 dollars in the US, compared to 9,000 dollars in India, 10,500 dollars in Thailand and 13,000 dollars in Singapore.

Tuason said foreigners can save much more if they come to Cebu. He said a coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), which treats the hardening of the arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle, costs about 18,000 dollars in Cebu but 100,000 dollars in the US.

‘Even if a patient pays about 3,000 dollars for air travel, 625 dollars for a five-day hotel accommodation, 500 dollars for meals, 100 dollars for ground transportation and another 100 dollars for other needs, he will only spend about 22,325 dollars in Cebu,’ he said.

CHWC members said Cebu has good potentials to be a major player in medical tourism. Aside from lower costs, the country’s hospitals are well-equipped and have competent doctors while Filipinos are ‘excellent caregivers.’

Tuason said while Cebu is not putting much emphasis on kidney transplants after the Department of Health passed a memorandum that limits the number of foreigners who can avail themselves of it, Cebu can still offer other medical services, such as cardiac surgery, orthopedic surgery and executive checkups.

CHCW is finalizing its registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Once finalized, its members – hospitals, dental services, spas, travel and tour operators, Department of Health, Department of Tourism, and Department of Trade and Industry – will become part of the health and wellness cluster of the Philippine Exporters

Medical centers in Metro Manila have complied to ISO standards, and are periodically and regularly undergo accreditations from Philippine’s Department of Health. Others have already accredited by the American accreditation group Joint Commission International (JCI), while some have appied to join the UK-sourced Trent Accreditation Scheme.

Medical tourism (also called medical travel, health tourism, beauty tourism or global healthcare) is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of traveling across international borders to obtain health care. Patients desiring plastic surgery who otherwise couldn’t afford it benefit from the significant cost savings and they can choose from the various life-enhancing cosmetic surgery procedures which are offered. It also includes tours to several destinations and Beauty Warehouse.

Such services typically include elective procedures as well as complex specialized surgeries such as joint replacement (knee/hip), cardiac surgery, dental surgery, and cosmetic surgeries. As a practical matter, providers and customers commonly use informal channels of communication-connection-contract, and in such cases this tends to mean less regulatory or legal oversight to assure quality and less formal recourse to reimbursement or redress, if needed.

Leisure aspects typically associated with travel and tourism may be included on such medical travel trips. Prospective medical tourism patients need to keep in mind the extra cost of travel and accommodations when deciding on treatment locations.

A specialized subset of medical tourism is reproductive tourism, which is the practice of traveling abroad to undergo in-vitro fertilization and other assisted reproductive technology treatments.