Medical Tourism-a new segment at ITB Berlin

December 08

00:00 2016

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For the first time ITB Berlin 2017 will feature a dedicated Medical Tourism Pavilion – Huge growth in medical tourism – Papers and workshops on new trends and developments

For the first time ITB Berlin 2017 will be fully devoting a platform to medical tourism, which has become an important fast-growing market. Medical service providers, hotels and destinations will be able to exhibit their products and services in the Medical Tourism Pavilion in Hall 3.2. Presentations and workshops will be held so that visitors can find out more about the latest trends and developments in this growth market.

Medical tourism has been increasing for years, for which there are many reasons. Some value the better quality of the medical infrastructure in certain countries and undergo measures that cannot legally be offered at home, such as fertility treatment for those who want children. According to a new report by VISA and Oxford Economics, the current turnover of the world’s medical tourism industry is around 439 billion dollars. Over the next ten years annual growth is forecast to reach up to 25 per cent.

According to David Ruetz, head of ITB Berlin, medical tourism offers huge prospects for the global tourism industry: “Over the next ten years three to four per cent of the world’s population will undertake trips motivated by offers of medical treatment. ITB Berlin aims to highlight this growth market and all its aspects and provide buyers and providers with a new platform.

Demand and enquiries for this new segment are high. According to Thomas Bömkes, Diversity Tourism GmbH, the agency partnering with Medical Tourism at ITB, “The introduction of Medical Tourism at ITB Berlin will make it possible for everyone involved in medical tourism – hospitals, health insurances and healthcare professionals – to meet directly and exchange views.”

ITB Berlin 2017 will take place from Wednesday to Sunday, 8 to 12 March. ITB Berlin is the global travel industry’s leading trade show. In 2016 over 10,000 companies and organizations from 187 countries exhibited their products and services to 180,000 visitors, who included 120,000 trade visitors.