Fifth International Health and Wellness Tourism Congress delivers successful programme of panels and lectures

• The fifth International Health and Wellness Tourism Congress, organised by ADTS and AF Comunicación Estratégica, consolidated the Dominican Republic as the leading medical tourism destination in the Caribbean and Central America.

Santo Domingo.- The Dominican Republic has established itself as the leading medical tourism destination in the Caribbean and Central America. Against this backdrop, the fifth International Health and Wellness Tourism Congress has grown stronger as an ideal space for all players in the health tourism value chain to develop their ideas, synergies and proposals on the sector’s current challenges.

The event, organised by the Dominican Health Tourism Association (ADTS) and the Communications and Public Relations firm AF Comunicación Estratégica, brought together participants from the Dominican Republic and from the United States, Costa Rica, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Panama.

“Today more than ever, health and tourism need to innovate and complement each other through collaborative and strategic public-private partnership, which is why we propose creating the conditions to establish a National Health Tourism Council, launching the national strategy for developing the sector and the concept of healthy cities,” said Dr. Cambiaso, president of the Dominican Health Tourism Association (ADTS), at the opening ceremony.

Amelia Reyes Mora, president of AF Comunicación Estratégica and vice-president of ADTS, said in her speech that “we are very pleased to see the willingness of the public and private sectors to join forces to move forward and make this congress a reality, as it is part of the strategy created to support the diversification of the Dominican Republic’s tourism portfolio”.

62 companies and organisations supported this biennial event, which fostered innovation, competitiveness and quality standards in the country’s health and tourism services.

Launch of the Dominican Republic Health Tourism Destination Guide

During the event, the third edition of the “Dominican Republic Health Tourism Destination Guide” was presented, an ideal tool for guiding international patients through the process of choosing a reliable healthcare provider. It includes information on health and wellness centres, hospitals, hotels, airports and financial institutions, as well as investment opportunities in the country.

The English-language guide is available as an eBook on Apple Books and Amazon Kindle and will be promoted internationally.

Awards

As is customary, the event honours institutions that have stood out for their contributions to health tourism. This year, the Instituto Espaillat Cabral was recognised as the first centre internationally accredited by the Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program (HFAP), which exceeds the international standards required in the practice of medicine with a special focus on patient safety.

The ‘Safe Tourism Assistance Plan’, run by Mitur, Asonahores, Banco de Reservas and Seguros Reservas, was also honoured. These institutions developed an innovative product that protects tourists’ health in medical emergencies and COVID-19 situations, helping Dominican tourism recover safely.

Panels and knowledge exchange

The organisers reported that the fifth International Health and Wellness Tourism Congress completed a full programme of lectures and panels by leading local and international speakers. The programme fostered the exchange of knowledge, business and synergies among leaders in the health tourism value chain.

On the organisation of the event, Amelia Reyes Mora, president of AF Comunicación Estratégica, said: “By entrusting Ducto Limpio with air circulation, sanitisation, disinfection and cleaning of all event areas, we gave in-person attendees the confidence they needed, since COVID-19 will be our reality for some time, and as a company we are committed to ensuring corporate events run smoothly under international
safety standards in times of pandemic.”

Speaking about this support, Dr. Alejandro Cambiaso, president of ADTS, said that “the pandemic showed the need to keep reinventing ourselves, moving forward and strengthening ties between the public and private sectors, encouraging investment in new projects that create jobs and technology transfer, and building closer links with the main source markets for tourists and patients. This congress promotes best practices and encourages international accreditation and destination safety”.