The 2018 Medical Tourism Congress took place on the ‘Foro Trece’ of Aguascalientes, Mexico, on May 24^th and 25^th. The event received 10 Guatemalan companies of the Health and Wellness Tourism commission of AGEXPORT, from dental clinics to dermatologists, hotels, spas and tour operators.

For a third year, AGEXPORT’s Health and Wellness Tourism commission participated in this Congress and shared with its participants our portfolio of services and special packages created to meet the demand of international patients, with help from the Guatemalan Tourism Institute (INGUAT). Our participation included important meetings with brokers and insurance companies of the United States, Canada, Colombia and Mexico, said Dr. Guillermo Contreras, president of AGEXPORT’s Health and Wellness Tourism.

As stated by Dr. Contreras, during the Congress companies had the opportunity to build strategic alliances with experts on the field as well as other companies of this industry. These alliances would be key for the development of health tourism at both a national and international levels. As well, companies highlighted key competitive advantages of Guatemala such as high-quality services, state-of-the-art technology, specialized doctors, personalized attention for patients and a warm customer services provided in Guatemala for all tourists and patients that visit the country.

For five consecutive years, the health and wellness tourism industry in Guatemala has demonstrated a continuous annual growth rate between 10 and 16%, ending 2017 with an income of USD70 million by offering health and wellness services to international patients, mainly from the United States, Canada, southern Mexico and Central America.

For more than 10 years, this commission of AGEXPORT has worked on developing and strengthening health tourism companies. Its success in recent years is mainly due to different initiatives undertaken, as well as the recognition that health tourism is one of the tourism segments with higher development potential in the country. With health tourism, the number of services that Guatemala offers abroad increase and also generates opportunities for direct and indirect employments, spilling revenues on other parts of the health tourism’s value chain, said Dr. Contreras.