Commissioner of Tourism Mr.Frans Richardson was present at Tuesday’s 4th Caribbean Conference at Westin, the following is his speech in which he presented at the Conference.
I am indeed, very pleased, as commissioner of tourism, to welcome you to St. Maarten, on occasion of this important event.
The people and government of St. Maarten are pleased to have our island serve as venue for this gathering of social security directors, health system advisors and administrators — to discuss topics related to health care financing.
I am happy that so many participants from some of our Caribbean neighbor countries and local health care departments are here to attend this conference.
As commissioner responsible for the portfolio of tourism, I am encouraged at what such conferences can mean for the future St. Maarten. This is, after all, a place that can serve to heal the mind, body and soul.
We are proud of our reputation as a desired tourist destination.
There are many things to do here, including visiting a variety of restaurants: we are, after all, the gourmet capital of the Caribbean (with some 300 restaurants…).
We are also known for our casinos, duty-free shopping and our beautiful beaches (some 37 beaches…one for each square mile).
But, one can also suggest though that we additionally have the potential for more.
Here is where I can think of medical tourism (also called medical travel, health tourism or global healthcare).
The concept of medical tourism is not a new one.
This is a rapidly-growing practice of traveling across international borders to obtain health care. It also refers to the practice of healthcare providers traveling internationally to deliver healthcare.
Over 50 countries have identified medical tourism as a national industry.
Factors that have led to the increasing popularity of medical travel include:
· the high cost of health care,
· long wait times for certain procedures,
· the ease and affordability of international travel, and
· improvements in both technology as well as standards of care in many countries.
Medical tourists can come from anywhere in the world, including Europe, the United States and Canada.
This is because of their large populations, comparatively high wealth, and the high expense of health care or lack of certain health care options where these people live.
A large draw to medical travel is convenience and speed. One of the things that we do have is reliable airlift out of Europe and North America.
When one talks about medical tourism these days, one can think about knee and hip replacements as one of the more widely accepted procedures because of the lower cost and minimal difficulties associated with the traveling to/from the surgery.
Colombia provides a knee replacement for about 5,000 U.S. dollars, including all associated fees and hospital stay-over expenses.
Other popular medical travel worldwide destinations include: Argentina, Cuba and Costa Rica.
Popular cosmetic surgery travel destinations include: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.
In South America, countries such as Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Colombia lead on plastic surgery medical skills relying on their experienced plastic surgeons.
Who is to say that St. Maarten cannot, someday, also become known for medical tourism?
But, we need to be prepared and we would have to address the broader issues of this industry. In other words, we would have work on an infrastructure to accommodate medical tourism.
I wish to extend my very best wishes to the organizers and participants of this vital conference as I invite you to benefit from the warmth and hospitality of St. Maarten, during your stay.
For those of you visiting us for the very first time, I express the hope that this will not be your last visit and that you will be telling your friends and colleagues about St. Maarten.
I thank you.