The Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) in the country is strongly urging Government, particularly stakeholders in the medical tourism industry to develop measures on ensuring transparency in medical tourism packages if it wants to lure in more foreign patients.“We see a bright spot for the Philippines in terms of medical tourism mostly because of its tropical climate which is ideal for medical patients in colder countries. But there is more to be done to develop the country’s potential as an international health care destination,” said Henry Schumacher,  European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (ECCP) Executive Vice-President.Foreign patients prefer medical treatment outside their home countries primarily because of lower costs.

Tourism, including medical and retirement tourism, is one of the industries pushed as part of the seven priority sectors that the JFC sees as having strong economic potentials for the Philippines in the group’s proposed 300-page roadmap, which will be presented to various government agencies.According to reports, medical tourism in the country continues to grow as the number of overseas patients and clients rose from 60,000 foreign patients in 2007 to about 100,000 in 2008.

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