Medical Tourism, a New Segment at ITB Berlin

Berlin (Germany) – November 23, 2016 (travelindex.com) – For the first time ITB Berlin 2017 will feature a dedicated Medical Tourism Pavilion – Huge growth in medical tourism – Papers and workshops on new trends and developments

For the first time ITB Berlin 2017 will be fully devoting a platform to medical tourism, which has become an important fast-growing market. Medical service providers, hotels and destinations will be able to exhibit their products and services In the Medical Tourism Pavilion in Hall 3.2. Presentations and workshops will be held so that visitors can find out more about the latest trends and developments in this growth market.

Medical tourism has been increasing for years, for which there are many reasons. Some value the better quality of the medical infrastructure in certain countries and undergo measures that cannot legally be offered at home, such as fertility treatment for those who want children. According to a new report by VISA and Oxford Economics, the current turnover of the world’s medical tourism industry is around 439 billion dollars. Over the next ten years annual growth is forecast to reach up to 25 per cent.

According to David Ruetz, head of ITB Berlin, medical tourism offers huge prospects for the global tourism industry: “Over the next ten years three to four per cent of the world’s population will undertake trips motivated by offers of medical treatment. ITB Berlin aims to highlight this growth market and all its aspects and provide buyers and providers with a new platform.“

Demand and enquiries for this new segment are high. According to Thomas Bömkes, Diversity Tourism GmbH, the agency partnering with Medical Tourism at ITB, “The introduction of Medical Tourism at ITB Berlin will make it possible for everyone involved in medical tourism – hospitals, health insurances and healthcare professionals – to meet directly and exchange views.“

About ITB Berlin and the ITB Berlin Convention
ITB Berlin 2017 will take place from Wednesday to Sunday, 8 to 12 March. From Wednesday to Friday ITB Berlin is open to trade visitors only. Parallel with the show the ITB Berlin Convention, the largest event of its kind, will be held from Wednesday, 8 to Saturday, 11 March 2017. More details are available at www.itb-convention.com. ITB Berlin is the global travel industry’s leading trade show. In 2016 over 10,000 companies and organisations from 187 countries exhibited their products and services to 180,000 visitors, who included 120,000 trade visitors.

For more information and to obtain bookings please contact Thomas Bömkes, TB@diversitytourism.com, tel. +49 (0)89 62439772 or
Rika Jean-Francois,
jeanfrancois@messe-berlin.de,
tel. +49 (0)30 30382157.

Contacts:
Messe Berlin
Emanuel Höger
Press Spokesman and Press and Public Relations Director
Corporate Communication
Messe Berlin Group
Messedamm 22
14055 Berlin
phone: +49 30 3038-2270
fax: +49 30 3038-2279
hoeger@messe-berlin.de
www.messe-berlin.com
https://twitter.com/pr_messeberlin

ITB Berlin / ITB Asia:
Julia Wegener
PR Manager
Messedamm 22
14055 Berlin
phone.: + 49 30 3038-2269
fax: + 49 30 3038-912269
j.wegener@messe-berlin.de
www.messe-berlin.com

Additional information:
www.itb-berlin.com
www.itb-convention.com

Management board:
Dr. Christian Göke (CEO), Dirk Hoffmann (CFO)
Chairman of the Supervisory Board: Peter Zühlsdorff
Commercial Register: Amtsgericht Charlottenburg (District Court) HRB 5484 B (Commercial Code)