Monday, November 27, 2006 Lure Asean delegates with smile: economist
FLASHING that “famous” Filipino smile to delegates of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is one way Cebuanos can project a good impression of Cebu, and encourage delegates to come back to the province as tourists.
This, aside from the immediate multiplier effect of summit delegates’ consumption — from hotels to malls — on Cebu’s economy, said economist Bernardo Villegas, vice president of the University of Asia and the Pacific.
He said one of the long-term effects of the Asean Summit on Cebu, which will be held next month, is the prospect of the delegates returning to Cebu to enjoy the province’s tourist attractions, especially the emerging medical tourism.
“This (Asean summit) is (your) investment for (their) future trips, if they have a good experience. They (delegates) would give attention to Cebu. Just make sure you give them that famous smile. (Most) of our (Asian) neighbors don’t know how to smile,” Villegas said in an economic briefing at the Casino Español de Cebu last Saturday.
Due to the low cost of health services in the Philippines compared to that in the United States and Europe, medical tourism is among the sunrise industries in the country today, he said.
As a marketing strategy, Villegas said the government has replaced the “medical tourism” phrase with “wellness, health and beauty services.”
“Medical tourism means (tourism) catering to the sick. We don’t want to treat them as sick people,” he said.
Villegas said the price of a cardiac bypass in the United States and London is about $80,000. In Bangkok, Thailand and in the Philippines, though, the same procedure may cost about $10,000.
With regard to liposuction surgery, the Philippines has the least costly — about $1,000. The same surgery costs more than $3,000 in Singapore, Villegas said.
Cebu has already started exerting efforts like the “Invest Cebu Forum: Opportunities in the Health and Wellness Industry in Cebu,” held during the Cebu Business Month 2006, to promote Cebu’s potential as a hub for health, wellness and beauty services.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Cebu Director Nelia Navarro said Cebu, being in the heart of the country, is the medical center in central and southern Philippines.
She said one of Cebu’s strengths is having a viable network of public and private hospitals, health facilities and health services.
Cebu also has a fast-emerging spa health and wellness industry with “world-class” spa facilities — such as Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort’s Chi spa village and Plantation Bay’s Mogambo Springs — and an increasing number of small companies that offer similar services.
Villegas said the Philippine Economic Zone Authority has already formulated policies to provide incentives to companies that would venture into the development of medical buildings and medical zones. (JBN)
