The Philippines earned a total of US$1.3 billion from healthcare and wellness services from overseas foreign tourists and balikbayans (expatriate Filipinos) who visited the country in the five-year period 2006 to 2010, says healthcare business intelligence firm Healthcore.

The Healthcore report, ‘The Philippine Medical Tourism Compendium’ contains analysis of the key competitive strengths of the country in terms of its hospital and healthcare infrastructure, cost structure advantages, market segmentation, value propositioning and quality systems in relation to the global market.

Joyce Alumno of Healthcore explains, “The Philippines has the potential to grab a bigger share of as much as US$1 billion to US$3 billion in annual revenues in the global medical tourism market by 2018 if it puts in place an attractive investment environment that will enable the country to expand its healthcare infrastructure, more open and liberal travel arrangements for medical tourists and better and more extensive international marketing promotions and programmes.”

Joyce Alumno adds, “The Philippines is losing out in Asia to Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. But the country has a world-class medical infrastructure and facilities and well-trained and proficient doctors, nurses and medical personnel. The top three hospitals in Metro Manila have put up hotel-quality facilities that will cater to not just the high-end Filipino patients, but also foreign medical patients who go to the Philippines for their healthcare needs.

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