IMTJadmin - 18/04/2008 16:11
The First European Congress on Health Tourism (ECHT) 2008 has been taking place in Munich, Germany. Although largely concerned with the links between Germany and the Middle East, particularly the Gulf Region, there was much of interest for all participants in medical travel/ global healthcare. Patients have been travelling from the Gulf to Germany for many decades, and these numbers have increased in recent years as patients have been reluctant to travel to the USA or have been discouraged by stringent visa requirements. Nevertheless Germany, for all the attractions of its high levels of healthcare faces significant challenges, not least the emergence of new, Asian competitors, and the recent strength of the Euro.
The Congress was officially opened Thursday 10 April by organiser Uwe Klein, who introduced H.E Khalifa Al Harthy, the Ambassador Sultanate of Oman who pointed out the close links between Oman and Germany. Mr Al Harthy detailed these as not only two-way trade and education, but also tourism, with some 150,000 Germans visiting Oman last year, the highest number from any European country. In addition, Oman Air will commence a direct service between Oman and Frankfurt from June of this year. Mr Al Harthy pointed out that Germany has for some time been a favoured destination for Arabs, attracted by both the service and security they receive in the country, but warned that Asian countries in general, and Thailand in particular, were becoming hotspots as a result of their high service levels and competitive costs. He also pointed out that new hospitals were being built in the Gulf Region to provide for nationals and so offer more competition for the German market.
These remarks were echoed by Abdulaziz Al-Mikhlafi, from GHORFA Germany (the Arab German Chamber of Commerce and Industry) who said that despite good business links between Germany and the Gulf, and the fact that some 200,000 Arabs visited Germany in 2007, competition was strong, with patients are able to search all over the world for the right facility. In addition, the huge wealth of the Gulf region, and the current high price of oil, has allowed renewed investment in infrastructure, including health facilities. The Gulf region countries wanted to treat their own patients wherever possible, and had plans to attract people from within and without the region, he said.
Did you go to the event? What did you think?
