Philippines pushes medical and wellness tour offerings

Medical and wellness tour packages targeted at foreign travellers have been rolled out in metro Manila and nearby provinces, as part of the Philippine Health and Care Programme launched this week.

Tourism undersecretary Roberto Alabado III said the programme, a collaboration between government agencies and the private sector, is an industry-first that aims “to develop the Philippines into a prime medical travel and wellness tourism destination”.

Philippines aims to become prime health and wellness tourism destination; The Farm at San Benito pictured

While the tour packages are initially limited to Central Luzon, Alabado expected similar packages to be rolled out in Boracay, Mindanao and other parts of Luzon as they continue to market and promote the Filipino brand of caring and nurturing in the domestic and international markets. The packages will be made available until December 21 next year.

The Philippine Health and Wellness Coalition has curated several packages combining tours around Manila with dental procedures and medical services, ranging from heart ailment procedure and kidney operation to cancer treatment and diabetes prevention, among others.

The coalition – composed of carefully screened travel agencies, hotels, hospitals, clinics, and health and wellness providers – underscored the competitive pricing of their packages that already include all taxes, confirmation of appointments and advance submission of medical records.

Cathy Brillantes-Turvill, president of Coalition member Nurture Wellness Village in Tagaytay, said one of their offerings, a workation package combining nature and Zoom, addresses the physical and mental effects caused by the pandemic and that the sector is “all about prevention”.

Another Coalition member, The Farm at San Benito in Lipa, Batangas, has invested more in science-based, evidence-guided and medically-supervised health programmes by highly trained medical doctors and licensed health professionals, said director of sales and marketing Jennifer Sanvictores.

Tourism regional director for Region 3, Caroline Uy, shared that medical tour packages including eye care combined with culinary, heritage, history and adventure tours are on offer in Pampanga, Clark and Subic.

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