Healthcare Travel Exhibition & Congress Predicts Worldwide Healthcare Travel Revenue to Hit US$100 Billion by 2012

SINGAPORE, June 29 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- Rising healthcare standards together with the growing demand for more affordable treatment will keep the Asian market for medical tourism buoyant, according to experts speaking at the Healthcare Travel Exhibition & Congress today at Fairmont Hotel, Singapore. Worldwide gross medical tourism revenue is projected to grow from US$56 billion to reach US$100 billion by 2012, with Asia as a major driver of this growth.

"Buoyed by the success stories of earlier waves of medical tourists, consumers, insurance companies as well businesses fully recognise the reliability and affordability of going overseas for medical procedures. Patients who choose to undergo treatments in Asia can pay just 10% of the cost of comparable treatment conducted in developed countries like the United States or United Kingdom. This differential cost, coupled with today's sophisticated travel industry, provides an excellent catalyst to the growth of medical tourism," said Mr. Andrew Keable, Divisional Director, Informa Life Sciences.

Asia is well-placed to grow in medical tourism as healthcare standards and technology adoption continue to improve. Hospitals in Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, India and Singapore have made it a point to implement state-of-the- art medical technologies to improve patient care.

Healthcare Travel Exhibition & Congress 2009 is Asia's premier event focusing on two of the world's largest industries: healthcare and tourism. The event brings together professionals, government officials and decision makers from the healthcare and travel industries, giving them the opportunity to network and share best practices, insights and knowledge to further develop Asia's thriving healthcare travel market.

Leading edge technology is on display at the exhibition portion of the event, where close to 30 exhibitors including leading medical suppliers, healthcare travel facilitators, medical spas and hospitals are showcasing their innovations and services. Governments too have begun to recognise the economic potential and are responding by actively participating in the promotion of their respective countries as attractive healthcare destinations.

    The conference themes at the Congress portion of the event include:

    -- 29th - 30th June: The global healthcare travel outlook, new challenges
       and opportunities in healthcare travel, payment and accreditation
       standards
    -- 29th - 30th June: Healthcare insurance trends in Asia, best practices,
       and emerging partnerships
    -- 29th June: Travel Business Day co-organised with Pacific Asia Travel
       Association (PATA), covering medical tourist requirements, business
       cases, misconceptions and the healthcare travel ecosystem
    -- 1 July: Minimizing legal liabilities in global healthcare travel
    -- 1 July: Health insurance risk management for new markets

"We have an impressive line-up of industry leaders and luminaries who will be sharing key topics specifically designed for the medical tourism industry. The exclusive congress segment ensures the unique position of Healthcare Travel Exhibition & Congress as Asia's leading medical tourism event", said Ms. Rebecca Wolfe, Divisional Director, Informa Life Sciences.

Healthcare Travel Exhibition & Congress is sponsored by Singapore Medicine, CKMP-Council for Korea Medicine Overseas Promotion and National Healthcare Group. The event is also supported by International Enterprise Singapore, International Medical Travel Association (IMTA), Life Insurance Association, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Spa and Wellness Association Singapore, Thai Spa Association, and Spa Association Singapore.

    For more information, please visit
http://www.healthcaretravel-singapore.com

About Informa Life Sciences

Healthcare Travel Exhibition & Congress is part of a global series of life sciences events organized by Informa Life Sciences, the world's leader in providing quality conferences, publications and learning experiences for the life sciences industry. Along with Arab Health, Hospital Build and Aesthetics Asia, Healthcare Travel Exhibition & Congress also takes place annually in Dubai.

Informa Life Sciences leads the market in providing quality, expert-led conferences; delivering the expert knowledge our clients need to excel in their professional roles and guaranteeing a competitive advantage for their organizations. Our diverse portfolio covers the Pharmaceutical (Drug Discovery, Clinical Development, Regulatory Affairs, Biopharmaceutical, Generics and Business Strategy), Medical Devices and Diagnostics, Fine Chemicals and Agrochemicals and Veterinary Medicine arenas.

    For media enquiries, please contact:

     Samuel Chua/Florence Fang
     Flame Communications
     Tel:   +65-6259-3193
     Email: samuel@flamecomms.com/florence@flamecomms.com

     Yvonne Lim
     Senior Marketing Manager
     Asia Pacific Life Sciences Division
     IIR Exhibitions Pte Ltd
     Tel:   +65-6517-3027
     Email: yvonne.lim@iirx.com.sg

SOURCE Informa Life Sciences

RELATED LINKS
http://www.healthcaretravel-singapore.com