Health Tourism and Infrastructure

Last week while travelling in the Caribbean the potential importance of healthcare to some of the island economies became more and more apparent. The global financial crisis has driven down the number of tourists travelling for traditional Caribbean holidays, so the governments and tourist promotion agencies are looking for new ways of attracting visitors to their shores.

Aside from the more mainstream efforts to promote business tourism and the like, there is a good opportunity to become a destination of choice for medical tourism. A similar desire was espoused by the Prime Minister of Grenada while at a Lunch I hosted in the UK a couple of months back, however he made it clear that there is a large infrastructure gap to filled in this sector.

This is a good example of where government and the private sector can work together to create an affordable, highly advanced and comfortable medical environment that is suitable for more elderly patients. The Caribbean is an ideal location for this industry, with its experience in delivering a 5 star tourist experiences and its proximity to the Large US market.

Grenada, the financial crisis and tourism

During this time of financial crisis smaller states need to work hard to find new ways of attracting foreign capital. CBC recently hosted a lunch for the PM of Grenada, Hon. Tillman Thomas; I was interested to hear how he plans to tackle this problem in his own county.

With the reduced numbers of people travelling for the traditional holiday, countries that rely on tourism for a large percentage of their income need to broaden there appeal and try to attract different visitors in addition to the traditional holiday maker. The Prime Minister described how his country was diversifying into, Eco Tourism and Health Tourism. He also talked of making the country self sufficient in terms of Agriculture – he wants the majority of what tourists consume to be produced locally, there should much fewer agricultural products imported for tourists.

I was also glad to hear the Prime Minister talk so passionately about a home grown chocolate bar that has now found a market in Europe.

The Caribbean and the Financial Crisis

I was in the Caribbean last week preparing for our Business Forum to be held in Trinidad alongside CHOGM later this year, so was meeting with government and business leaders, 2 main concerns seem to be affecting the islands’ leadership.

Firstly that the financial crisis is having a direct impact on the islands economy as the level of tourism drops off as potential visitors in the US and UK chose not to travel or to stay closer to home for their holidays. I hope that the various stimulus packages proposed around the world shorten the duration of the Recession and allow growth and prosperity to resume as soon as possible as a drop in the level of tourism is a serious threat to smaller states.

Secondly, there is an indirect consequence that may potential have a bigger impact on some of the island states. The current trend of viewing tax heavens as separate from the rest of the globalised economy and as singularly bad, the focus should be inclusive and on the greater involvement of small states as part of global competition and as useful elements of the global economy.