A “Report Back”
Compiled by:
Constantine Constantinides, M.D., Ph.D.
Secretary General, Global Healthcare Travel Council
Tel.: (+30) 69 45 85 76 42
constantinides@healthcarecybernetics.com
NOTE
This Report Back is also available OnLine:
Preamble
The “Global Healthcare Travel Forum”, under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein, was held between 25 and 27 February 2017 at the Le Royal Hotel, Amman – Jordan.
The Forum was chaired by Dr. Fawzi Al-Hammouri (Chairman, Private Hospitals Association, President, Global Healthcare Travel Council) and co-chaired by Dr. Constantine Constantinides (Secretary General, Global Healthcare Travel Council, President, Greek Health Tourism Confederation).
27 February was devoted to visiting Hospitals and the Annual Meeting of the Global Healthcare Travel Council General Assembly.
2017 – 2018 Presidency of the Global Healthcare Travel Council
The 2017 – 2018 Presidency of the Global Healthcare Travel Council was passed on to Dubai.
The 2018 Forum
The 2018 Forum will be held in Dubai, dates and venue to be announced in due course.
Forum Theme
Globalization of Healthcare
The Opening Ceremony
Attendees were greeted at the registration area by the Pipes and Drums band of the Jordanian Army.
More than 650 participants attended the opening ceremony and the dignitaries included:
- Representative of the Patronage His Majesty King Abdallah the II – HE Dr. Hani Mulki, Prime Minister, Jordan
- HRH Princess Ghida Talal
- HRH Princess Dina Mired
- HE Lina Annab, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Jordan
- HE Dr. Mahmoud Al-Sheyyab, Minister of Health, Jordan
- Several local and international VIPs – including Ministers, Ambassadors and Members of Parliament
Countries Represented
The following countries were represented (in alphabetical order):
- Algeria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Belgium
- Canada
- Chad
- China
- Egypt
- Finland
- Germany
- Greece
- India
- Iraq
- Italy
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Kyrgyzstan
- Lebanon
- Libya
- Malaysia
- Morocco
- Nigeria
- North Cyprus
- Norway
- Oman
- Palestine
- Philippines
- Qatar
- Romania
- Singapore
- Spain
- Sudan
- Turkey
- United Arab Emirates
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
- Uzbekistan
- Yemen
The Organizers
…and the people who made it happen
The Forum was jointly organized by the Private Hospitals Association (Jordan) and the Global Healthcare Travel Council.
The people who made it happen – and made it a success – were:
- Fawzi Al-Hammouri (Forum Chairman, Chairman, Jordanian Private Hospitals Association, President, Global Healthcare Travel Council)
- Emin Cakmak (Founding Chairman, Turkish Healthcare Travel Council, Founding President, Global Healthcare Travel Council)
One of the first events to include a dedicated ht8 Session
The Forum was one of the first Conferences to include a dedicated session on “ht8” (the 8 Health Tourism Segments – see below, Amman Declaration).
The Amman Declaration
…regarding the Configuration of Health Tourism in terms of the 8 Segments (ht8)
At the Global Healthcare Travel Council General Assembly Meeting (Amman – Jordan, 27 February 2017) – it was unanimously agreed that the Global Healthcare Travel Council would adopt, support and promote the 8 Segment approach to Health Tourism Sector configuration (a.k.a. ht8).
This came to be known as the Amman Declaration.
Health Tourism 8 (ht8) refers to:
- Medical
- Dental
- Spa
- Wellness
- Culinary
- Sports
- Accessible
- Assisted Residential
It needs to be pointed out that ht8 expands the Industry so that this can address a broader Market (meaning more business for all).
Furthermore, ht8 makes every Tourist / Traveler a potential Health Tourist.
A truly International Event – professionally and efficiently managed
The overall Event (Forum, Exhibition, B2B Meetings and the Global Healthcare Travel Council General Assembly Meeting), was truly international with 41 counties (a number of which are established or emerging Health Tourism Destinations) being represented.
Special mention
Special mention, thanks and congratulations need to be extended to:
- Shereen Abu Manneh (Head of Marketing & Business Development Dept., The Specialty Hospital; Jordan) for coordinating all aspects of the event (which was managed very professionally and efficiently – and ran smoothly, throughout)
- Mr Yunus Gurkan, Supervisory Board President, Global Healthcare Travel Council and Secretary General, Turkish Healthcare Travel Council, for his tireless efforts and endless hours devoted to ensuring every detail was attended to
The Conference Part
…and the broad issues addressed
Follow the hyperlink to see the conference program: http://www.global-healthcaretravelforum.org/agenda.aspx
The Main Sessions
The conference part of the Forum included the following Main Sessions:
- Ministerial Summit
- Global Medical Tourism Destinations
- Regulation, Legislation, Certification and Accreditation
- Health Tourism from the Buyer and Patient Perspective
- Excellence in Medical Care & Medical Tourism Education & Research
- Marketing and Branding
- ht8 (The 8 Health Tourism Segments)
Speakers
There were 44 Speakers representing 16 countries (alphabetically):
- Canada – 1
- Germany – 1
- Greece – 4
- India – 1
- Italy – 1
- Jordan – 21
- Kuwait – 1
- Malaysia – 1
- Oman – 1
- Philippines – 1
- Saudi Arabia – 1
- Sudan – 2
- Turkey – 3
- UAE – Dubai – 2
- Ukraine – 1
- United Kingdom – 1
See: http://www.global-healthcaretravelforum.org/speakers.aspx.
B2B Meetings
The Forum included two B2B Meeting Sessions.
The Exhibition
The Exhibition part of the Event consisted of several well-appointed Booths / Pavilions representing:
- Destinations
- Providers of Health-related Services
- Sector-supporting Services and Products
Gala Dinners
The Forum included two spectacular Gala Dinners, hosted by the:
- Private Hospitals Association (Jordan) and the Global Healthcare Travel Council
- Turkish Healthcare Travel Council
Hospital Tour
A hospitals tour was arranged (on the 27th) for VIP Buyers and International Participants.
Meeting of the Global Healthcare Travel Council General Assembly
The 3rd Annual General Meeting of the Global Healthcare Travel Council was also held during the 2017 Forum.
During the proceedings, the 2017 – 2018 Presidency of the Global Healthcare Travel Council was passed on to Dubai.
A separate Report Back / Press Release on the deliberations and voted decisions of the Annual General Meeting will be sent out to Health Tourism Stakeholders around the world.
