Date: 14/01/2020, 10:00

Venue: Kyiv City State Administration, the sidelines of the Session Hall, 4th floor

Speakers:

1. Marina Radova, Head of Tourism and Promotions Department of the Executive Body of the Kyiv City Council (Kyiv City State Administration);
2. Natalia Tabaka, Head of Tourism and Resorts Department of Lviv Regional State Administration;
3. Violetta Ianyshevska, President of the Global Healthcare Travel Council, President of the Ukrainian Association of Medical Tourism;
4. Igor Torskyy, Vice-President of the Ukrainian Association of Medical Tourism, General Secretary of the Global Healthcare Travel Council;
5. Emin Çakmak - Founder and Honorary President of the Global Healthcare Travel Council, President of the Turkish Healthcare Travel Council.

Marina Radova, Head of Tourism and Promotions Department of the Executive Body of the Kyiv City Council (Kyiv City State Administration):

Hundreds of countries around the world are developing medical tourism to increase budget revenues, because medical tourists are the most profitable and solvent customer. In particular, Turkey, Israel, Hungary and Switzerland have been promoting medical treatment in the best medical institutions in their countries for more than a year, with the support of state institutions. Today, Ukraine also pays great attention to the development of medical tourism, both from the state and from local governments.

Kyiv, the capital of our country, concentrates on its territory the achievements of Ukrainian medicine, attracting foreign medical tourists, which is a sufficient prerequisite for the priority development of medical and health tourism.

Kyiv has a rich historical and cultural potential, a favorable geographical location in the center of Europe and many years of experience and best practices in the field of recreation and treatment.

Natalia Tabaka, Head of Tourism and Resorts Department of Lviv Regional State Administration notes that “On August 6-9, together with the Ukrainian Association of Medical Tourism , we held a powerful First Regional Medical Tourism Forum in Lviv, within the forum we conducted an info-tour for 30 medical tourism providers from Arab countries, Central Asia and the Caucasus by leading clinics, medical and rehabilitation centers Lviv region. Such forums and info-tours are extremely important for the development of the tourism industry. We are confident that the Global Healthcare Travel Forum 2020 will also be held at a high level and will enhance the promotion of the recreational and medical potential of the Lviv region in the world. “In Lviv we plan to hold a Global Medical Tourism Forum - Global Healthcare Travel Forum, info-tours by leading clinics of Lviv region, B2B - business meetings between foreign medical tourism providers and health centers of Lviv region, as well as an acquaintance of foreign guests with well-known tourist regions.”

Lviv region is traditionally an area where the prospects of the tourism and recreation industry have been and remain one of the best in Ukraine: natural resources, over 200 healing springs of seven types of mineral waters, therapeutic muds and ozokerite.

In Lviv region, the development of medical and health tourism takes place in the following areas: spa treatment, reproductive medicine, dentistry, rehabilitation, vein surgery, cosmetology, aesthetic medicine. Statistical data of the Lviv medical tourism cluster on the number of medical tourists (ratio of foreign patients and patients from other cities of Ukraine to patients from Lviv region in terms of directions) in clinics of Lviv region: 

- Reproductive Medicine - 56%

- Dentistry - 32%

- Сosmetology - 38%

- Vascular surgery - 15%

- Rehabilitation (Kozyavkin method) - 90%.

Lviv region has a rich historical and cultural potential, favorable geographical location in the center of Europe, and many years of experience and experience in the field of recreation. All this is a sufficient prerequisite for the priority development of the system of sanatorium treatment, tourism and recreation, aimed at both domestic consumers and foreigners.
April 22-25, Lviv region will welcome foreign and Ukrainian leaders of medical and health tourism- participants of Global Healthcare Travel Forum 2020. This forum will be held under the chairmanship of the Office of the President of Ukraine following the results of the meeting on medical issues tourism chaired by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in Truskavets in August 2019. We welcome to join this extremely important event for Ukraine and Lviv region in particular - Global Healthcare Travel Forum 2020.

Emin Çakmak - Founder and Honorary President of the Global Healthcare Travel Council, President of the Turkish Healthcare Travel Council:

The Global Healthcare Travel Council was founded in 2013 in Monaco, Monte Carlo, where representatives of 16 countries, including Ukraine, signed a Memorandum of Incorporation. At the moment, the GHTC includes profile associations from 56 countries. The Global Medical Tourism Association promotes medical tourism in the world, including international collaboration between B2G, B2B representatives; develops 8 major segments of the health services market in the world: medical tourism, SPA & Wellness tourism, sports tourism and dental tourism, culinary tourism and tourism for people with disabilities and tourism related to Wellness real estate. 

Today the global healthcare travel grow annually 25-30% and the turnover of Healthcare travel has reach 850 billion USD in 2019.

Each year, a new country heads the GHTC and holds the Global Healthcare Travel Forum and Global Healthcare Travel Assembly. In April 2019, Ukraine became the leading country in the GHTC. This is a unique opportunity for Ukraine to declare itself as one of the leading countries of medical and health tourism in the world. On April 22-26, 2020, the Global Healthcare Travel Forum will be held in Ukraine, which will be held in two regions at once: in Lviv and in the capital of Ukraine - Kyiv. That is why we invite to become sponsors and participants of this largest medical and wellness forum in Ukraine.

Violetta Ianyshevska, President of the Global Healthcare Travel Council, President of the Ukrainian Association of Medical Tourism;

In Ukraine, the field of medical tourism has been systematically developing for over 7 years. In 2013, the Ukrainian Association of Medical Tourism (UAMT) was formed, which today includes over 100 organizations working in the field of medical tourism from Ukraine and 15 other countries. During the years of systematic promotion together with members of the UAMT Medical Potential of Ukraine in foreign markets, we significantly increase the number of foreign patients who come to Ukraine for treatment and rehabilitation every year. We are proud of the achievements of Ukrainian clinics and wellness centers, which are improving their medical base, service and qualification of doctors year after year, which enhances their image in the international arena.

“Over the years, UAMT has become the most active and reputable medical tourism association among Central and Eastern European countries, and as a result, in 2019, headed the Global Healthcare Travel Council, which includes profile associations from 56 countries. Such success of the Ukrainian Medical Tourism Association gives a unique opportunity for rapid growth of inbound medical tourism in our country, and we feel it. Mission of UAMT is to combine the efforts of leaders of medicine and tourism with representatives of the executive and legislative branches of the Ukrainian authorities to actively promote Ukraine in foreign markets and solve problems that hinder the development of medical tourism and increase the flow of foreign patients and tourists who choose Ukraine for rehabilitation and treatment ».

Igor Torsky, Vice-President of the Ukrainian Medical Tourism Association, Secretary General of the Global Healthcare Travel Council:

Many ukrainian medical institutions already have technologies and innovations that can attract foreigners to choose treatment in our country. Medical tourists are more solvent than ordinary tourists, which is why all developed countries consider medical tourism as a priority for their countries' economies. Medical tourists in 2018 spent an average of $ 2500 per trip in Ukraine, but in 2019 this amount increased to about $ 2,800 per trip. According to the Ukrainian Association of Medical Tourism, about 60,000 foreigners came to Ukraine for treatment in 2018, while in 2019 Ukraine has already received about 65,000 medical patients, which has estimated that our country has brought about $ 182 million. Foreign tourists who come to the Ukrainian sanatoriums and SPA&Wellness for the purpose of healing about twice as much. Foreign patients come to Ukraine for the treatment of ophthalmic diseases, rehabilitation, plastic surgery and aesthetic medicine, reproduction, dentistry, cell therapy, cardiac surgery. As for the geography of inbound medical tourism, foreign patients come to us from Israel, Spain, Italy, many eastern countries, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, UAE, Kuwait, Central Asia and the Caucasus, such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan and others.

Ukraine, due to its relatively low cost of treatment and sufficient level of development of medicine in certain fields, can become one of the prominent players in the world market of medical tourism.

Healthcare Travel Forum will strengthen the recognition of the brand of both Ukrainian medicine as a whole and individual medical institutions in the international arena.

Marina Radova, Head of Tourism and Promotions Department of the Executive Body of the Kyiv City Council (Kyiv City State Administration):

We believe that holding such international forums and info-tours is extremely important for the development of the tourism industry, in particular to increase foreigners interest in Kyiv and to develop medical and health tourism. We are confident that we will hold Global Healthcare Travel Forum 2020 at an extremely powerful level and strengthen the promotion of Kyiv's tourism, recreational and medical potential in the world!

Welcome to join in this extremely important event for Kyiv, which will be held under the slogan "Global Healthcare for all"!