Shanghai will host the first conference of medical tourism in China, due to take place on April 10-12, 2013 at Shanghai Everbright Convention & Exhibition Centre.
SHANGHAI- As medical and healthcare tourism is developing robustly as an emerging global industry, China will host its first professional exchange event in Shanghai with the launching of the 2013 Shanghai Medical & Healthcare Tourism Show (SMTS).
Due to the rapid expansion of a strong middle class in China today, the existing medical and health care services fall short of people’s needs. This wealthy middle class is increasingly looking at high-level overseas medical and healthcare tourism services. There are approximately 30 million people in China requesting high-end medical service, and the insurance capacity of the high-end medical market reaches RMB 20 billion (US$ 3 billion) each year. According to Shao Qiwei, chairman of China National Tourism Administration, China has a huge market for medical tourism, and it is the right time to bring up the issue of healthy tourism. As an example, some 100,000 Chinese tourists went last year to South Korea for medical care tours.
Meanwhile, foreign tourists to China are showing strong interest in the super quality and competitive price of Chinese medical service and featured medical services, such as the traditional Chinese medicine, etc. China is a market with huge tourist output potential as well as an ideal destination in regard of medical and healthcare tourism.
Taking shape under such a context, SMTS aims to provide a platform for communication and cooperation among suppliers, destinations, hospitals, insurance companies, hotels and other professionals of global medical and healthcare tourism products. It will help them enter the Chinese market, promote and introduce services and eventually improve their business and sales. Furthermore, SMTS opens a window for the large number of potential customers and professionals in China to know more about global medical and healthcare tourism products.
Based on full preparations, SMTS has won strong support from China’s health authorities and tourism officials as well as high attention from all works of life. It is positioned as the “solution to China’s high-end medical service”, and this annual activity aims to exert good influence in China and even in Asia.
According to experts, “Investors see a market full of potential. The healthcare industry is a dynamo – it enjoys double-digit growth each year. China’s healthcare industry is taking off, with last year’s expenditures on medical service and healthcare products totaling 123.4 billion US dollars.”
