Speech by the Hon. Dr. Michael Farrugia, Minister for Health, Care of the Elderly and Family Affairs at the Seminar on Health Tourism Rejuvenation Centres for Malta - Qawra - 12.03.98

Honourable Prime Minister, Colleagues, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, Members of the Press,

Health-related tourism is a recent marketing concept which falls under the umbrella of "special interest" tourism. Unlike mass tourism, health-related tourism has a narrow focus with emphasis on personal care, reputation of service providers, service quality, and consumer satisfaction.

By definition, health-related tourism is the deliberate attempt on the part of a tourist facility (e.g., hotel) or destination to attract tourists by promoting health-care services and facilities in addition to regular tourist amenities.

For quite a long time, one of the backbones of our economy has been the tourist industry. Throughout the years, the whole infrastructure has been set up. Our tourist industry compares favourably with any other competitive tourist resort.

Simultaneously, Malta has developed one of the best health systems in Europe. With one of the oldest Medical Schools in Europe, our medical staff has a worldwide reputation. The supporting staff of nurses, therapists and other paramedical staff are also professionaly trained and highly skilled.

It is with pleasure that we welcome efforts which amalgamate these two sectors: health and tourism. Presently, there is a private initiative exploring the possibility of introducing rejuvenation centres in Malta.

Rejuvenation falls under one popular configuration of health-related tourism. This is Rehabilitation and Recuperation. This form of demand for health care generally arises from a diagnosed health condition, such as stress-related illnesses, that requires subsequent care or monitoring. Rehabilitation generally involves specialized remedial care with skill-intensive provider intervention while recuperation relies more on having appropriate facilities for self-healing and rejuvenation.

Under the initial guidance of foreign expertise in such forms, Malta can, in a short span of time, establish this service on a sound footing. But let us not rush and first understand the factors that regulate this market.

1

Health-realted tourism is not something which is unknown in other countries. We must admit that most consumers, purchase health-related services in their own countries. But it is believed that a substantial, though unknown number, seek health-related services in other countries. International studies on the export of health services cites three key factors as reasons why patients seek treatment abroad. These are:

treatment is not available in their own country;

treatment in another country is considered to be of a higher quality; and

treatment is less expensive in the foreign country.

Please allow me to make some considerate remarks on these three factors.

The factor of non-availability of services in home country will probably be less important in the future with the progressive development of health care services around the world. But, for specific state-of-the-art procedures, consumers may still prefer to seek treatment outside their home countries. Moreover, it has become fashionable for many multi-national corporations to offer incentive travel which includes an executive fitness and health package combined with recreation and business activities for their most esteemed employees.

For example, IBM hosts an annual "Hundred Percent Club" meeting for its top sales employees in different resort destinations. High quality service and excellent facilities are key factors in selecting an incentive destination. Therefore the quality of service that we provide has to outweigh any other consideration.

As a matter of fact, the differences in the quality of health-related services is probably the most important factor in explaining why some people seek health-related services abroad.

As I have said earlier, the quality of medical care in Malta is superior to that in most countries. This conclusion is based on WHO and other international recognised statistics.

Today, through the Institute of Health Care, we are suppling our health sector with personnel who possesses excellent technical skills. This institution will be further strengthened in the near future as we intend to build a new Institute which will house more amenities. This building will be adjacent to the new state-of-art, Lm100 million University Teaching Hospital.

As for the third factor, we must bear in mind the comparative costs of health-related services. Obviously, the price is an influencing factor on the consumer's decision whether to seek medical treatment at home or go abroad for it. Due to varying supply and demand conditions in different countries, the price of health-related services will vary widely from place to place. The costs of medical care, togetehr with the quality of service and success rate are the keys to any success.

So far, the success story in tourism has always revolved around the Maltese being friendly people, our warm climate and the picturesque beaches. These assets may have to be supplimented by health-related services. We must react swiftly to what is happening around us by creating new pull-factors that distinguish us from other destinations.

This conference may be the initiation of a new pull-factor, bringing together two successful sectors in Malta: health and tourism.