Leading Greek clinics and medical centers, as well as hotels and resorts that exploit the benefits of thermal springs in Greece are to participate in the “Greek Health Tourism Meeting & Workshop,” so as to boost the medical tourism of Greece on the Russian market.
The biggest event ever to be organized on Greek medical tourism, which will be held in Moscow on April 7, 2014 and is organized by “Tourism Today,” will showcase on the Russian market all Greek health care services and everything surrounding the tourism product of the country in this field.
Following the two successful workshops in 2013, this year’s event will also feature a day conference on health tourism, which will include two parts: one part focusing on health tourism and another part covering the areas of wellness tourism & thermal spa’s. This new conference aims to display the country’s existing medical infrastructure which combined with the hotel capacity and the medical services offered, make up for a highly competitive tourism product, capable of attracting many tourists.
During the workshops held last year, Russians showed a particular interest in medical services like dentistry, plastic surgery, oncology, cardiology, diabetology, orthopedic rehabilitation, O&G (mainly IVF), kidney problems, andrological problems, treatments for respiratory problems, cosmetology, wellness tourism and spa’s.
The “Greek Health Tourism Meeting & Workshop” is organized in collaboration with the Federation of Russian Tour Operators, the Federation of Insurance Companies and the Greek embassy in Moscow. The workshop aims to rapidly develop Greek health tourism, which seems to be one of the main reasons for attracting Russian tourists to Greece over the coming period.
The Russian medical tourism market lists some 300,000 tourists, with an annual 20 percent increase. According to statistics, currently, 50 percent of Russians traveling outside Russia for medical reasons visit Israel, while in many countries such as Germany, due to the growing interest of Russian patients for the country’s health care, hospitals are hiring Russian-speaking personnel. The international health tourism patients have expenses of around $3,000 to $4,000.