Access Tourism NZ TOURISM FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, SENIORS, AND AGEING BOOMERS IN NEW ZEALAND AND WORLDWIDE

In an effort to increase tourism, island nations such as Barbados and the Philippines are launching initiative to lure older travellers in need of high quality healthcare. The International Medical Travel Journal reports that a  task force for the government of Barbados will create a National Healthcare Quality Council to regulate private product and service providers in six sectors, including universal access to tourism products and services.  The target market is seen as “ An aging population with increasing demands for cosmetic surgery, spas and retirement communities.”  Head of the Barbados Departmetn of Tourism Richard Sealy, has said that health and wellness tourism is growing faster the general tourism and Barbados plans to develop its health and wellness market.  A recent study by the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) found that Barbados needs to do more to capitalize on this profitable niche market.  Filipino legislators are also working to promote medical travel, a global industry that is expected to be worth $188 billion within the next three years, according to the Manila Bulletin. The Philippines is developing medical tourism under the initiative of the Department of Tourism.  While the Philippines has had medical tourists for three decades, numbers have recently risen from 60,000 foreign patients in 2007 to about 100,000 foreign patients in 2008, bring in about $350 million since the program was launched in 2006.  The Department of Tourism expects the Philippines to have 200,000 foreign patients by 2015, generating $3 billion.  In the central Philippines, there are now 44 hospitals and health facilities accredited for medical tourism by the Department of Health and the Department of Tourism. Three of these medical facilities have been accredited by the Joint Commission International , an international organization providing accreditation for hospitals and other healthcare facilities worldwide.

In its research report “Poland Medical Tourism Market 2013 – An Untapped Opportunity”, IMRS has identified Poland as one of the most promising destination for medical tourism in Europe. In recent years tourists from countries like the UK and Germany have increased visits to hospitals and clinics in Poland for medical consultations and procedures. Driving this increase has been lower treatment costs in Poland and shorter waiting times. Also important has been Poland’s entry into the Europena Union, and,as a European country, it is placed in its market and there are no visa issues for Europeans.   The only challenge for Poland comes from already established medical tourism destination like India, Singapore and Thailand. According to the report, the medical tourism industry in Poland has the potential to grow exponentially because it has government support and an increasing number of private healthcare facilities.  A growth of 15% in medical visits to Poland is expected over the next several years.

Because Europe has an increasingly aging population Bulgarian government and tourism industry officials are looking to spa tourism to drive annual growth.  Spas in Bulgaria are open all year round and new luxurious hotels have already gained a reputation among Bulgarians and foreigners alike for the high quality of their services.  Tourism, which accounts for about eight percent of GDP, remains one of the few sources of foreign revenues for the poorest European Union nation.

Finns Hejari-Hashemi and Jukka Yrjola, who stayed in a five-star hotel in Velingrad — a mountain town that boasts 80 mineral springs — said they were particularly attracted by the warm climate and affordable prices.  ”We are both at the age where we enjoy these kinds of spa services,” Hejari-Hashemi, 54, quipped. “This is my first time here but not the last for sure.”

Medical Tourism is a growing trend.  Nearly 150,000 Americans travelled abroad in 2007 for international medical care, and numbers drastically increased throughout 2008 and 2009. According to the Medical Tourism Association, an estimated 23 million Americans alone will travel overseas for their medical care by the year 2017, with expenditures of nearly $80 billion dollars. Large numbers of Britons, Canadians, and Middle Eastern citizens of countries such as Iran and Iraq, as well as Afrikaans, are seeking international medical destinations.  International medical care has become nearly synonymous with vacation travel to many state-of- the-art, world-class, and famous tourist destinations around the world. Formerly limited traditional medical destinations such as India, Thailand and Singapore have blossomed with growth in the 21st century with newer, high-tech, and world-class facilities located in destinations from the Ukraine, Turkey, and Jordan, to South Africa, the Mediterranean, Switzerland, South America, and new Asian destinations such as South Korea, Japan, and Malaysia.  Baby boomers travelling to international destinations may save tens of thousands of dollars on the same treatments performed in the U.S., Canada and Britain, while it the same time receiving state of the art, high-tech and qualified care. For example, single heart bypass surgery, depending on severity, may cost an average of $25,000 to $40,000 in the United States, while an individual travelling to destinations such as India may receive such care for approximately $10,000. A knee replacement in the United States may cost 35,000 to $40,000 per knee, while knee replacement surgeries and procedures in destinations such as Costa Rica, charge 1/4 to 1/2 same price, all the while providing certified, accredited, experienced, and highly trained surgeons, and high-tech facilities (article here).

Poland, Jordan, and countries in Asia are expecting to profit from an increased growth in medical tourism.   A recent report predicts that medical tourism in Poland will increase by 15% over the next several years as patients from countries like the UK and Germany visit there for medical treatments. Lower treatment costs, no waiting time, and Poland’s entry into the European Union have driven an influx of patients from other countries.

In Jordan, the number of foreigners seeking medical treatment rose by 10% to 220,000 in 2009, generating about  1 billion U.S. dollars in revenues.  “In spite of the global financial crisis, Jordan’s position as a destination for medical treatment was not affected as the number of foreign patients increased in 2009,” Jordan’s Private Hospitals Association President Fawzi Hammouri told reporters at a press conference.

Dr. Sanjiv Malik, chair of the International Summit on Medical Travel, Wellness , and Retirement predicts that international healthcare travel will play a large part in the recovery of Asian economies from the current recession.  According to the Travel Daily News, an industry report reveals that the Asian medical tourism industry will grow by 16% from 2010 to 2012.  “More and more people from the US, UK and Europe have considered travelling to countries like India, Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia as a viable option to getting treated in their own country, which usually have long wait times and overburdened healthcare system. The demand for medical and wellness services in Asia is robust and will still continue to rise,” Malik is quoted as saying.

The report goes on to say that the recent passage of the US healthcare reform bill will also positively impact the medical tourism industry. Expanded insurance will now cover 32 million previously uninsured Americans, and more of these people are expected in Asian hospitals and clinics where they can buy medical procedures and treatments at a fraction of the amount that they would have to pay for the same service in the US.

In addition, some Asian, Central, and South American  countries are increasingly seen by seniors and Baby Boomers as places to retire (Retirement Tourism).   Meeting the needs of these groups is seen to be a major economic driver.

An exhibition in Montreal, Canada (1-2 May, 2010) is aimed at pitching to the lucrative Baby Boomer market. The organisers recognize that the segment of the population over the age of 45 is a powerful economic force. “People in this group generate enormous demand for virtually every product and service, and that demand is growing every year. Not content to deprive themselves of anything, these “mature” consumers indulge their desires and have the financial means to satisfy them.”  Statistics Canada reports that people over the age of 45 account for half of Canada’s population. Most notably, those in the 45 to 60 category, the wealthiest generation in Canadian history at the peak of earnings potential, account for nearly one-third of the population. In the Greater Montréal area, this represents well over one million people – a large market with a lot of buying power.

Exhibition categories include Travel and Recreation, Airlines, Hotels, Resorts, Restaurants, Spas, Laser Therapy, Laser Surgery, Plastic Surgery, Tennis & Golf Clubs, Retail Stores, Ballroom Dance Clubs, and Mobile Homes, Designed for affluent consumers over the age of 45, the exhibition is expected to draw 6,000 to 8,000 visitors.  Last year’s exhibition featured about 120 exhibitors.

A new edition of the United Nations Economic and Social Affairs report, World Population Ageing 2009, has been released.  The report provides a description of global trends in population ageing and includes a series of indicators of the ageing process by development regions, major areas, regions and countries.   The contents of the report underscore four major findings:

1. Population ageing is unprecedented, a process without parallel in the history of humanity. At the world level, the number of older persons is expected to exceed the number of children for the first time in 2045. In the more developed regions, where population ageing is far advanced, the number of children dropped below that of older persons in 1998.

2. Population ageing is pervasive since it is affecting nearly all the countries of the world.

3. Population ageing is profound, having major consequences and implications for all facets of human life. In the economic area, population ageing will have an impact on economic growth, savings, investment, consumption, labour markets, pensions, taxation and intergenerational transfers.

4. Population ageing is enduring. Since 1950, the proportion of older persons has been rising steadily, passing from 8 per cent in 1950 to 11 per cent in 2009, and is expected to reach 22 per cent in 2050. As long as old-age mortality continues to decline and fertility remains low, the proportion of older persons will continue to increase.

Other main findings of this report include the following:

• Population ageing is irreversible.
• The population aged 60 years or over was 200 million in 1950, 600 million in 2000, 700 million in 2009.  This figure is expected to reach 2 billion by 2050.
• The pace of population ageing is faster in developing countries than in developed countries.
• The population of older persons is itself ageing. Among those aged 60 years or over, the fastest growing population is that of the oldest-old, that is, those aged 80 years or over.
• Because women live longer than men, women constitute the majority of older persons.

 Although the report does not mention disabilities, other UN reports – for example, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities - note that the prevalence of disability increases with age, so any future-planning in tourism should include a consideration of both the ageing population and disability.

An aging population of Baby Boomers and the increasing stress of modern life has created a boom in wellness retreats and spas around the world according to Elisabeth Brehl, managing director at German exhibition organizer EPOC Messe Frankfurt.   Skin Inc magazine reports (February 2010) that the spa trend is expanding and spreading from day spas and spa resorts.  The pursuit for personal wellness has extended to become a lifestyle trend itself, and leisure time is increasingly associated with activities that look to cultivate physical, spiritual and mental well-being. According to Euromonitor, health and wellness tourism globally grew 57% between 2003 and 2008 to reach $65.5 billion.

Boomer consumers are defying the stereotypes of aging – and giving marketers pause to think.  A new study of 1,100 Boomers gives marketers a first glimpse of the Boomer consumer at age 70. The research was released at the What’s Next Boomer Business Summit, and will also be presented at the annual gatherings of the nation’s two largest professional associations in aging—the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and the American Society on Aging (ASA).  The research revealed that 93% of surveyed Boomers predict that they will have more time to do things like travel and dine out, and 76% predict they will use technology to stay connected to family and friends.

Market researchers Mintel report that last year alone Brits went on no less than 205,000 health and wellness holidays, spending an estimated £135 million on these kinds of holidays and the fun doesn’t stop there, with sales set to increase by as much as 150% by 2011. “This sector (homeopathic tourism) is a thriving industry as a developing figure of well-off baby boomers take their health needs into their own hands plus pursue the elixir of eternal youth,” said Richard Cope, senior Mintel analyst.

“It seems many British tourists are developing a taste for a holiday with a difference. Tired of the fly and flop package deals, they are opting for spa holidays, holistic breaks or in some cases a medical break for a session of cosmetic surgery or dentistry. Although this is a niche market, health and wellness holidays are steadily growing into a high value business, with the average cost of a trip well in excess of the holiday market norms. This market is fuelled by those looking to escape the pressures of a culture of long working hours and what some operators see as an urge to retreat from the debilitating effects of the consumer society,”

Medical Tourism is yet another sector that New Zealand is missing out on as there seems little government resolve in developing this market.  

Our neighbours, Australia, held their first Health and Wellness Tourism conference in September 2009.   At that conference, it was discussed how Health and Wellness tourism is estimated to be worth in excess of US$1 trillion and is one of the fastest-growing drivers in the travel industry.  Ruth Grau, Springboard Vacations USA and Medtral NZ has stated that New Zealand has a potential of 2000 medical tourists a year ( Inside Tourism 742, June 19, 2009), and explains why New Zealand is attractive to medical tourists.   In addition, Dr. Hans Raetz, who is involved in the development of a Southern Cross private hospital in New Zealand tourism hotspot Queenstown says that there is a real possibility for medical tourism at the resort (Travel Memo 24 March 2009).  In fact, the Tourism Industry Association of New Zealand, in its brief to the incoming Minister of Tourism in December 2008, stated that the “wellness market (has) the potential to attract high value visitors and would benefit from target marketing’.  Meanwhile, Medical Tourism “has not been something that has been considered’, according to Associate Minister of Tourism Jonathan Coleman (Inside Tourism 742, June 19, 2009)

So writes JoAnn Hines.  Boomers are a prime and growing target audience. According to Rick Adler, founder of The Senior Network: “Simply based on population growth trends, if a product is marketed to the 50-plus audience and maintains its market share, it should increase in sales by 35 to 50 percent in the next 20 years. Conversely, a brand targeted at the zero to 50 age groups will be flat in sales.” 

For example, in America:

• Those age 50-plus control $7 trillion, or 70% of all US wealth.
• The 50-plus group brings in $2 trillion in annual income that they want to and are willing to spend.
• One baby boomer turns 50 every 7 seconds of every day.
• With 76 million U.S. boomers in command of today’s buying decisions, the potential for profit and growth from this group is enormous.
• AARP estimates 54 million baby boomers will be between the ages of 50 and 64 by 2010.
• 90 million Americans will be age 50 or greater in 2010

 More………..

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The Rolling Rains Report notes two upcoming conferences on Access Tourism.  In Brazil we have

from 30/11-3/12/2009), while in Catalonia we have  Accessi Tourisme Simposium (30/11-1/12/2009).  This in addition to the UN ESCAP-Takayama Congress on access and tourism in the Asia-Pacific region (see 13/11/2009 post, below).

Aussies realize potential of medical tourism while NZ turns its back on this lucrative market. Continue Reading