Breakfast Debate On Health Tourism In Tunisia, Opportunities And Challenges

Breakfast Debate On Health Tourism In Tunisia, Opportunities And Challenges

The Tunisian British Chamber of Commerce organized, with the collaboration of AMCHAM Tunisia, a breakfast debate on Health Tourism in Tunisia, Opportunities and Challenges on Friday 5 May 2017.

In his speech, TBCC President Mehdi Ben Abdallah highlighted the importance to « focus not only on medical tourism but also rethink a broader approach to health tourism that includes medical tourism, medical retirement and E-medicine »

Ms Salma Elloumi Rekik, Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts, said that the electronic visa, which is to enter into force in a few months, should enhance tourism flows and facilitate the process of obtaining visas to all nationalities, especially for African patients who are among the main health care seekers in Tunisia.

Mrs Elloumi Rekik addressed the need to work towards developing the perception of the Tunisian tourism product, highlighting the many strengths of the country that foster the health tourism sector such as competence, the large number of world renowned thalassotherapy, plastic, ophthalmic and cardiovascular surgery centers, the recognized quality of the thermal springs, as well as the excellent value for money.

In addition, Mr. Amor Dehissy said that “Tunisia offers different possibilities of collaborations with the English insurance or retirement companies as well as with the British state in terms of tourism and investment. For NHS or private insurances, Tunisia can help solve the problem of the waiting lists and the prohibitive cost of medical care by offering an option to the insured persons to access a comparable quality of care (and sometimes better) than that of their country and at an affordable cost. Medical retirement and the development of telemedicine platform are two other areas where there is great deal to be done. ”