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Medical Tourism Directory

The Medical Tourism and the Health Travel Industry is booming, and
now there's a medical travel directory that gives medical tourists the information they need to get the care they deserve. In addition to information and articles to educate you about healthcare travel, World Medical Resources' online medical travel directory gives you access to information about global hospitals , medical tourism physicians and medical travel planners so you can make the best decision for you.

International medical care facilities and providers are encouraged to contact WMR immediately to ensure their facility is listed on the most comprehensive medical tourism resource on the web.Our Destinations include listings for popular countries including: Costa Rica , Mexico , India , Singapore , Malaysia , Spain , Thailand , Argentina , Brazil , China , Dubai/UAE , Korea , El Salvador .

SOUTH AFRICA: Medical tourism businesses target fans going to South Africa World Cup

June and July 2010 will see thousands of soccer fans descend on South Africa for the World Cup tournament. Although fans will be from many places, the majority will be from the USA, England, Germany and Australia. At the World Cup there will be no British fans –only those supporting England, as Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland did not qualify.

Several South African agencies and clinics optimistically hope that while they are in South Africa fans will also become medical tourists. Packages include cosmetic surgery, spa treatments, plus accommodation while they recover and guided tours.
Cape Town based Surgical Bliss has several World Cup packages on offer, breast augmentation, eye lift, tummy tuck and in vitro fertilization. Spa treatments, golf and shopping trips, and tours in and around the city can be added at extra cost. Particularly targeted are England and USA fans. Africare Health, a Sandton company mainly gets custom from African countries including Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Kenya. The company’s World Cup package includes accommodation and local transport, with a choice of a safari, heritage or golf tour. Johannesburg based, Medi-Sculpt clinic has launched a World Cup face-lift and safari package that includes interaction with lion cubs and giraffes.

Another Johannesburg based agency, Serokolo Health Tourism is planning special health packages. Dr Tshepo Maaka of Serokolo Health Tourism says .We made our prime target sub-Saharan Africa, with long-haul destinations a secondary consideration. West Africa has become our biggest market but we are now receiving enquiries from the UK, Asia and Canada, which indicates the need to expand to include the overseas market. The World Cup soccer event may be their primary reason for coming here, but we have so much more to offer on the lighter side of medicine, from basic medical check-ups to spa treatments, eye checks, dental reviews, teeth whitening and so much more.”

Football fans traveling to South Africa will be mostly male, under 35 and with two pre-occupations - football and drinking! A few may even act as tourists, but with long distances between the various locations they are unlikely to have the time. Stadiums are spread far apart; the distance between Cape Town and Johannesburg is 880 miles. Much will depend on where, when and how the local police allow fans to travel; this will depend on how peaceful the fans are and whether historic rivalries such as Germany versus England flare up as they have at previous events. Most people who go to watch World Cup soccer support their own country and doing anything that is not football related is hard to plan. Fans will know where their country is playing in the first round, but which city they will be in depends on how far their country progresses in the competition. South Africa is mobilizing an extra 25,000 police for security, and the official police advice is for fans to stay in groups, and not to go anywhere individually.

The inclinations and young ages of the fans suggest that few will be interested in cosmetic surgery, fertility treatment or spas. But even if the agencies get very little actual business, it is probably a good advertising and marketing opportunity that raises the country’s profile.

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