Posted on :Tuesday , 31st October 2017
Specialized hospitals in Kenya are expected to help raise funds through medical tourism. This particular activity has worked wonders in India and is expected to do the same for Kenya too.
Julius Muia, the Vision 2030 Delivery Secretariat, Director-General said that a recently conducted a situational analysis across the nation revealed the presence of 5000 foreign citizens visiting Kenya on a yearly basis to make use of the medical facilities available.
Mr. Muia believes that a new tourism brand that lays emphasis on promoting investments in good medical facilities and specialized care would do wonder to the growth agenda of Kenya’s medical sector.
These comments were made before a three-day international conference on the subject of medical tourism that begins on May 22.
Dr. Muia said issues of oncology, nephrology, cardiology and heart procedures, and elective surgical procedures that see 10,000 Kenyans go abroad annually will be part of the topics discussed.
“There is a need to look into areas of development within the health and tourism sectors to capture the opportunities in this growing industry.”
The Kenyan administration has been working tirelessly to reinvigorate the tourism sector that has been hit hard by stories of terrorism in the country that are prevalent in the international media today.
An improved figure of Sh99.7 billion was reported last year, which was seen as a positive sign while international visitors too hit 1.399 million, growing by encouraging 13.5 percent.
The conference will be held at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. It is expected to bring together senior officials from the government as well as big private sector personalities.