As “a well-oiled infrastructure,” Prensa Latina describes the work of the Cuban Medical Services Marketer (CSM), protagonist of the First Medical Tourism and Well-being Fair that will be held at the Pabexpo site, from October 17 to 21, in La Havana.
The company is a health conglomerate that offers all kinds of services: assistance to foreigners (operations, treatments, therapies), training of students from other countries and export of medical contingents.
In a post-pandemic world scenario, the CSM intends to launch an offensive on the international market by bringing together the two most lucrative economic sectors on the Island: tourism and medical services. The goal is to offer an attractive “product portfolio” for tourists.
The 1st Medical Tourism and Wellness Fair will be part of the 4th Cuba-Health International Convention 2022, which the Government will take advantage of to seduce the 1,500 foreign delegates with the proposals of the CSM.
Dr. Armando Garrido, director of Medicuba, explained that it was an expected moment “in which a group of actions will take shape: the signing of a significant number of contracts with international suppliers and letters of intent for new businesses.”
Since the last International Tourism Fair, in May of this year, the CSM had obtained several contracts with the hotel companies that operate on the Island so that vacationers could access hemodialysis services in Havana and Varadero, and had plans for “long stay” in the Ciénaga de Zapata.
“Many tourists in the world ask themselves: what should be the destination of my future vacations? Where to find personal security, health and humane treatment?”. The answers, she assured, “they have in Cuba”
The “immunization strategy” against covid-19 through Cuban vaccines plays a fundamental role in this plan, “among many other benefits of this type,” says Prensa Latina. The official agency does not clarify, however, that most countries have already vaccinated the population for free, so traveling to Cuba to get immunized is, to say the least, unnecessary.
The official agency interviewed the economist Miguel Alejandro Figueras, who declared that “many tourists around the world ask themselves: what should be the destination of my future vacations? Where can I find personal security, health and humane treatment?” The answers, he assured him, “they have in Cuba.”
To endorse his opinion, Figueras added that health tourism is “a fast growth path”, which has contributed 200,000 million dollars to various countries. It is the only way to achieve “the economic recovery of the nation.”
Tourists who intend to access Cuban medical services must fill out a form and present it upon entering the country, along with their medical visa. You can also purchase a Tourist Card if the treatment will take less than thirty days.
The Marketer does not accept payments in cash or in dollars, but online or by bank transfer. The company itself processes your admission to hospitals and clinics, and if the treatment allows it, to the “hotel of your choice”.
If the patient wants a surgical intervention, he must remain in the country for an undetermined period of time even if he is discharged. Also in this case, the CSM will be able to go to the hotel and attend to the patient there, who will have options for lodging family members thanks to the company’s alliances with hotel chains.
Those who wish to opt for a “comprehensive cancer treatment” may do so at the National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology, which will include the use of the Cuban drug Heberferon
Those who wish to opt for a “comprehensive cancer treatment” may do so at the National Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology, which will include the use of the Cuban drug Heberferón, indicated for those suffering from “basal cell carcinoma, in lesions of any size and location, including areas of high risk, the H zone of the face, or in those that are locally advanced and difficult to treat due to their proximity to the eyes or the brain”.
The CSM reminds its potential clients that the country is “a very safe destination” and recommends treatment in Havana, where “most of the medical tourism offer is located,” but clients can go to its facilities in any province .
The so-called Health and Welfare Centers –for which the Marketing Company intends to attract foreign investment during the Fair– are located throughout the national territory. The San Vicente Thermal Center, Pinar del Río, for example, is part of an old therapeutic bath inaugurated in 1901, with mineral-medicinal waters that the CMS presents as “chosen by celebrities such as the novelist Ernest Hemingway” to relax.
Another thermal bath, located in Corralillo, Villa Clara, provides the same service of medicinal mud and “hyperthermal” waters between 36 and 48 degrees Celsius. He also mentions that the center “has gained fame for achieving the healing of multiple circulatory, rheumatic, somatic, neurological and respiratory conditions, which do not find a solution with other conventional treatments.”
In addition, in each hotel facility that has signed contracts with the company, there will also be “bioenergetic, naturopathic, therapeutic-rehabilitative and aesthetic medicine” available.
On the other hand, countries that frequent Cuba as a tourist destination, such as Canada, have been the most enthusiastic investors in medical projects. The Canadian embassy in Havana notified on its Twitter account that 1.12 million dollars in medical supplies would be delivered “to support the people of Cuba.” Other nations, such as Mexico, Japan and several members of the European Union have sent similar donations to the Island.
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