According to China Daily, the National Development and Reform Commission, which has broad administrative and planning control over the Chinese economy, has announced a plan to encourage tourism-related activities in southern province, Hainan, including medical tourism.
The article says that the Hainan province has unveiled plans aimed at building the tropical island into a world-class medical tourism hub, combining high-end medical tourism with characteristic Chinese healthcare.
This move follows a plan released in early January by the National Development and Reform Commission to encourage tourism-related activities in Hainan, such as medical tourism, horse racing, sports betting and an instant lottery.
The article says that in 10 years, Hainan is projected to become a major medical tourism destination with total annual business revenue reaching 40 billion yuan (US$5.84 billion). No data source has been given.
Eight major tourism projects will be developed, covering fields such as cancer treatment and rehabilitation, fertility therapy, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease treatment and rehabilitation, environmental healing and sports recuperation, traditional Chinese medicine and spiritual retreat.
To stimulate the industries, Hainan is exploring flexible policies, regulatory models and management systems for investment, financing, fiscal and taxation, financial innovation, entry and exit policies.
As a demonstration project, launched in 2013 by the State Council to explore international medical tourism, Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone has been granted nine special preferential policies including permission to import medical technology, equipment and medicine, and cutting-edge technological research on stem cells before other parts of China.
The article claims that 27 medical projects have been completed or are under construction in the pilot zone, and another 38 projects have passed medical technology appraisals. Eight projects are now open. All projects in the pilot zone are targeted to be completed within five years.
It is anticipated that the pilot zone will first attract domestic patients who would otherwise travel abroad, and later patients from Southeast and the whole of Asia. Last year, medical institutions in Sanya alone received nearly 20,000 medical tourists from overseas.
“Hainan will first attract domestic tourists with advantages of prices, convenience, language and culture over outbound medical tourism,” said Chen Yangle, a professor at Hainan University’s Tourism College.
“The industry will also attract international medical institution investors. … In the long run, there will also be comparative advantages for Hainan to attract medical tourists from southeast Asian countries and other areas in terms of natural environment, favorable policies and convenient air services,” said Chen.
For a more detailed analysis of the medical travel sector in China , visit the IMTJ Country Profile.
©2024 All rights reserved LaingBuisson 
