Agenda announced for the 6th International Congress on Health and Wellness Tourism

• It is the leading medical tourism event in Central America and the Caribbean, bringing together leaders from many sectors focused on innovation, education, local and international public-private synergies, and business and project development.

SANTO DOMINGO: – The organisers of the 6th International Congress on Health and Wellness Tourism, Dr. Alejandro Cambiaso, president of the Dominican Health Tourism Association (ADTS), and Amelia Reyes Mora, president of AF Comunicación Estratégica, announced the agenda details for the major event, which will take place on 1 and 2 November 2023 at the JW Marriott Hotel in Santo Domingo.

The gathering, which will feature more than 40 speakers, is the leading medical tourism event in Central America and the Caribbean, bringing together leaders from many sectors with a focus on innovation, investment, education, sustainable tourism, local and international public-private synergies, and business and project development.

Dr. Daniel Rivera, Minister of Public Health and Social Welfare, will give the opening address. The programme will include two keynote lectures: one by Tourism Minister David Collado on innovative strategies for positioning a destination, given the Dominican tourism sector’s successful experience during the pandemic, and a second presenting the results of the second Health Tourism Study and Diagnosis, given by Dr. Alejandro Cambiaso, president of ADTS.

The agenda is made up of several discussion panels covering: Latin America’s opportunities as a health tourism hub, moderated by Dr. Javier Potes, general manager of the Mexican Hospital Consortium; challenges in training and attracting human capital in the health and tourism sectors, moderated by Amelia Reyes Mora, president and vice president of AF Comunicación Estratégica and the Dominican Health Tourism Association (ADTS); and How are new technologies driving the health sector?, with Fedor Vidal, CEO of Arium Salud Digital, as moderator.

From the financial sector, there will be a panel on tourism and health as a partnership to boost the economy and sustainable development, with Javier Tejada, president of United Capital, as moderator, and panellists Samuel Pereyra, general administrator of Banreservas; Steven Puig, president of Banco BHD; René Grullón, senior executive vice president of Banco Popular Dominicano; and Felipe Amador, CEO of Advanced.

Other topics will include How to innovate and improve the patient experience in the health and medical tourism sector?, moderated by Dr. Rodolfo Núñez Musa, medical director of Caribbean Health TPA, and local regulations and international accreditations, moderated by Bill Cook, director of business development and marketing at Global Healthcare Accreditation.

New opportunities for wellness and retirement tourism will also be discussed, with David Llibre, president of ASONAHORES, as moderator, as well as the Dominican health offering to the world, moderated by Dr. Arnaldo Espaillat, medical director of the Instituto Espaillat Cabral.

Other prominent panellists include Dr. José Natalio Redondo, president of Grupo Rescue; Dr. Héctor Sánchez Navarro, deputy general director of Hospital Metropolitano de Santiago and director of Meta Integra; Dr. Sergio Guzmán, president of the Dominican Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery; Dr. Virginia Laureano, president of the Dominican College of Dentists; Carlos Prato, president of Hospital IMG; Dr. José López, medical vice president of Centro Médico Central Romana; and Odil Camilo, rector of UNIBE.

Also taking part will be Dr. Eddy Pérez-Then, director of the O&M School of Medicine; José David Montilla, Vice Minister for the Digital Agenda; Víctor Rojas, executive vice president of Seguros Reservas; Lorenzo Ramírez, director general of INDOCAL; Joaquín Toribio, CEO of MacroTech; Dr. Juan Gerardo Mesa, director of licensing and accreditation at the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare; and Laura Porcella, ambassador of the Hospital for Special Surgery, among others.

From the tourism sector, participants will include Rafael Blanco Canto, adviser to the Ministry of Tourism; Yudit Rodríguez, president of the Santo Domingo Hotel Association; and Flavio Acuña, vice president of the Ibero-American Wellness Tourism Association and delegate of the American SPA Association.

Also notable will be the participation of Dr. Rafael Lantigua, vice dean at Columbia University and specialist physician at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, and Dr. Roosevelt Fajardo Gómez, head of Continuing Medical Education at Fundación Santa Fe de Bogotá.

The long-awaited event will feature prominent participation by renowned international experts: Elizabeth Ziemba of Temos International; Theodoro Constantinau, general manager of The Panama Clinic; Dr. María Fernanda Valencia Gamba, director of the International Office of Colombia, Clínica Imbanaco and Grupo Quirónsalud; Mario López Salguero, president of the Guatemala Health Tourism Cluster; and Antonio Acosta-Rua, Latin America representative of ACHC International Accreditation.

This international congress seeks to highlight the country’s competitive advantages as the region’s tourism leader. Its two most recent editions brought together more than 800 participants and around 70 speakers from the Dominican Republic, Canada, Costa Rica, the United States, India, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Panama, Spain, Colombia and the Caribbean islands, as well as more than 110 sponsors.

For more information about the event, registration and sponsorship, visit the website: https://congresoadts.com/ or call (809) 567-2663.