by Maria K Todd, MHA PhD Founder and Executive Director Center for Health Tourism Strategy Located across the Mediterranean Sea just one hour’s flying time from Rome, Tunis and Carthage welcome more than 6 million tourists annually to this cosmopolitan destination. Few people from the USA have been there, many confused by the tiny...
Continue readingWhere to buy medical tourism insurance?
by Maria K Todd, MHA PhD Executive Director Center for Health Tourism Strategy As an expert in the healthcare industry and the author of the best selling-books on provider contracting with insurance plans, it should be no surprise that I receive calls from all over the world asking how I can help a hospital...
Continue readingChina, the Silk Road and Medical Tourism Market Strategy
by Maria K Todd, MHA PhD Executive Director Center for Health Tourism Strategy Recently I was asked to evaluate the Chinese medical tourism market for one of our strategic partners. At first, my response was Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen Guangzhou, and Xiamen. Then I approached the strategic dilemma from a different angle. By adjusting my perspective,...
Continue readingThe Importance of Healthcare Provider Credentialing in Health Tourism
When a health tourism coordinator represents that their provider network selection process involves due diligence but doesn’t conduct primary source verification of credentials, training and experience, I view that as false advertising which is illegal in most jurisdictions. 1 Professional health and wellness services coordinators and facilitators owe a...
Continue readingWhy Aren’t Customers Buying Your Medical Tourism Services?
by Maria K Todd, MHA PhD Executive Director Center for Health Tourism Strategy Are you scratching your head wondering why more people aren’t lining up to buy medical tourism services from you? If what you are doing to connect with buyers isn’t working, it’s time to re-examine and change your approach. If you can identify...
Continue readingAre You Placing Your Brand at Unnecessary Risk with the Wrong Healthcare Marketing Strategy
Using slang and jargon – Choose a communications style that makes sense for both your brand and your audience. Not having any personality on their accounts – When all you do is re-tweets or post auto-generated messages or inspirational quotes with no context, people get frustrated and leave. They want to...
Continue readingHello Activities Guide, Goodbye Visitor’s Guide
by Maria K Todd, MHA PhD Executive Director Center for Health Tourism Strategy “In developing a health and wellness tourism destination, you must develop tools to help your health and wellness tourism visitors to plan their experience in the context of any special needs.” An Unfortunate Case Study Caused by a lack of...
Continue readingUnderstanding the challenges and opportunities that lie within the GCC for healthcare and health tourism
The entire Gulf region is witnessing an exponential population growth. Over 49% of the density, however, consists of expatriates from all over the world, engaged in trades engineering, and service industries. At the same time, longevity contributes to the growth of as people live longer develop many common chronic conditions encountered in more...
Continue readingProduct Characteristics of a Medical Tourism Destination
Product Characteristics of a Medical Tourism Destination 1 Tangible and Intangible Assets Medical tourism destinations are made up of both tangible and intangible assets. Tangible assets could include places such as hospitals, clinics, health resorts, rehabilitation centers, dialysis treatment centers, or and geographical features such as beaches or mountains, historical sites, and attractions. Intangible...
Continue readingUNWTO MEETING ON WELLNESS AND HEALTH TOURISM
MEDICAL TOURISM terminology | trends | destination opportunities 1 UNWTO MEETING ON WELLNESS AND HEALTH TOURISM 01 August 2016 The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the European Travel Commission (ETC) gathered in Budapest to explore health and wellness tourism. At the meeting, participants debated the proposed research to agree on a...
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