Australia should be offering elective surgery and other medical treatments as part of holiday packages for international tourists, according to the director of UQ’s Centre for Tourism and Risk Management, Dr Jeff Wilks.
A health and tourism industry partnership, based on Australia’s leading reputation in both areas, could deliver important economic and health benefits, Dr Wilks said.
“With Australia’s reputation as a safe, stable, clean destination with a high quality medical system, combined with our tourist attractions, there is enormous potential for health tourism,” he said.
Dr Wilks will outline his vision for health tourism at a major gathering of the health and tourism industries — the Asia-Pacific Forum on Tropical Health Innovation — in Cairns from July 8 to 10.
He said Hawaii had already positioned itself as a destination for eye surgery holidays and Singapore and other Asian destinations were gearing up for similar promotions, highlighting their modern private clinics staffed by Harvard and UQ-trained clinicians.
“This is a smart approach for Australia,” he said. “It would require a close partnership between healthcare providers and wholesale tourism packagers, but the economic benefits through increased international tourism are obvious. There is no added burden to the public health sector, but there is a flow-on effect to the private healthcare sector, creating an incentive for increasing infrastructure and staff.”
Dr Wilks, the co-author of the 2004 APEC Tourism Risk Management Report, said following the outbreak of SARS, tourism was only now appreciating the importance of its relationship with the health industry. He said the Cairns forum aimed to develop this relationship. The forum will bring together leaders in health, biotechnology, biosecurity, information and communication technology to plan health care delivery and develop innovative solutions for economic and health problems in the region for the future.
Queensland Institute of Medical Research (QIMR) Professor Brian Kay, Convenor of the forum, and Director of the Australian Centre for International and Tropical Health and Nutrition (ACITHN) said that the forum was unique in its interdisciplinary approach and the calibre of distinguished speakers from around Australia and the Asia-Pacific.
Media: For more information, contact Dr Jeff Wilkes, telephone 0419 711967 or to contact other presenters, Pauline Fraley, telephone 0428 391928 or visit: http://acithn.qimr.edu.au/asia-pacific/
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