Investors wanted for Cyprus medical tourism plan

Medical, wellness and rehabilitation health travel is now pegged to be one of the pillars of strategic action for the Cyprus Government, who believes it will help enhance the country’s tourism for the next decade until 2030.

Often, governments seeking to develop inbound medical and health tourism look to fund it via overseas investors.

Invest Cyprus, the country’s national investment promotion agency, is working on a national strategy to turn Cyprus into a leading tourism and hospitality investment destination. It has launched a project bank that sets out the investment opportunities in key sectors and this showcases the potential that exists in the development of rehabilitation centres, wellness centres and wellness resorts. These are considered integral to the future of new and existing tourism resorts to enhance their value proposition.

Cyprus does attract interest as a wellness destination with several spa resorts and rural retreats.  It has been less successful to date as a medical tourism destination.

The latest project from Invest Cyprus is to make Cyprus a European destination for patients recovering from surgery and illness.  Stating that there is a need for rehabilitation services to be developed to help the new national health system, the government is working on new legal framework that will promote investment into this area.

Foreign companies and investors have shown interest in the ideas but are, as yet, not prepared to commit until the government actually has a legal framework for rehabilitation, and a national tourism strategy that includes health and medical tourism.

The ‘health, wellness and rehabilitation projects’ is not a list of ideas for investors, but a destination for owners of fully licensed projects in Cyprus seeking foreign investment, to submit their business plan and/or feasibility study carried out by a consulting firm.

Cyprus plans to welcome vaccinated travellers from May and will scrap quarantine and test requirements.

Cyprus’s National Tourism Strategy 2017-2030 is targeting multi-billion euros of foreign direct investment into the tourism and hospitality sector in Cyprus. It is part of efforts to diversify its traditional “sun and sand” offer into an all-year round destination, focusing on areas such as health tourism and wellness centres.