The Sunday News
THE resort town of Victoria Falls has been described as an ideal location to pioneer medical tourism in the country as plans to promote the venture gather momentum despite reservations from the local tourism authority.
Speaking at a ministers roundtable during the recently held Sanganai/Hlanganani world tourism expo, Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa said the serene environment in Victoria Falls and the natural attraction made it ideal in terms of medical tourism.
Medical tourism refers to travelling to another country for healthcare that is ordinarily unavailable at home.
“To fully exploit this kind of tourism, we need facilities like saunas as well as trained medical personnel. It will not only be limited to Victoria Falls but other areas in the country as well because the country has so much to offer to visitors,” said Dr Parirenyatwa.
He said health was an important aspect of tourism, adding that his ministry was advocating for the introduction of gyms at every hotel in the country.
“We want every hotel in the country to have a gym for health purposes, people need to exercise and keep fit,” he said
According to research, medical tourism is rapidly expanding in many countries.
It generated $10,5 billion globally in 2012 and expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 17,9 percent from 2013 to 2019 to reach $32,5 billion. In a KPMG report released last year, India was placed among the top three medical tourism destinations in Asia (Thailand and Singapore being the other two), mainly due to the low cost of treatment, quality healthcare infrastructure and availability of highly skilled doctors.
Due to the popularity of India as a medical tourism destination, its government in a bid to boost it announced the setting up of the National Medical and Wellness Tourism Board to provide help to those visiting the Asian country for health care need.
However ZTA chief executive Mr Karikoga Kaseke said the country did not have the resources to venture into medical tourism and that it was best to concentrate on what the destination can excel in.
Mr Kaseke said venturing into medical tourism would be spreading the already few resources too thinly.
“There are destinations like India that excel in medical tourism and Zimbabwe is definitely not in that category. We do not have the resources or personnel and it will take us many years to get to those levels. People might want to hear that we can venture into medical tourism but that just is not us and that is the truth of the matter,” said Mr Kaseke.
He said the country’s strength in tourism lies in other areas like MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events), leisure and safari.
MICE refers to a particular type of tourism in which large groups planned usually well in advance are brought together for some particular purpose and it is known for its flawless planning and demanding clientele.
MICE events are normally bid on by specialised convention bureaus and the process of marketing and bidding is normally conducted well in advance of the actual event.
The tourism industry wants to capitalise on MICE business to grow the sector.
Mice tourism rakes in three times more receipts than leisure tourism with knock-on effects on local hotels in terms of revenue generation.
MICE business has huge potential to sustain the country’s economy through revenue generation and employment creation while increasing destination awareness.
According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation MICE tourism generates $23 billion regionally each year and is responsible for generating 45,8 percent of revenue in the hospitality industry.
