• more than 500 International Attendees from 10 Countries (United States, Canada, Thailand, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Guatemala, El Salvador & Costa Rica)

• 35 Featured Lectures (Topics: Promotion, Marketing, Safety, Quality, Service Certification & more)

• 150 Exhibitors (Doctors, Hospitals, Clinics, Hotels, Recovery Centers, Tour Operators & more)

• Summit sponsored by PROMED, Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT), Costa Rica Foreign Trade Promotion (PROCOMER) and private companies from the medical and tourism sectors

Featured Conference Lectures:

• “Effects of US Health system Reform on Self-Insured Companies”, Robert Repke: SIIA (Self-Insurance Institute of America).

• “Legal Forum: Medical Tourism-Related Risk Management”, Steve Weiner, Mintz Levin Law Firm: Boston.

• “Marketing to the American Medical Tourist”, Patrick Goodness, CEO, The Goodness Company: Medical Tourism Marketing

• “How to Sell to Corporate Buyers”, Laura Carabello, Director of CPR Strategic Marketing Communications: New Jersey

• “New Market Niches for Medical Tourism”, Dr. Jeff Dugas, International Sports Surgeons.

• “Globalization and Health”, Costa Rican Coalition for Development Initiatives, CINDE.

Dr. Jorge Cortes, President of PROMED, offered the following comment about the upcoming summit. “Medical tourism is in its infancy. as more people discover the incredible quality, safety and value of health care in Latin American nations like Costa Rica, they will become a part of the growing trend to seek affordable healthcare, while enjoying a tropical vacation in some of the most stable, beautiful and exotic locations in the world. We welcome you to attend the 2nd Annual Medical Travel International Business Summit in Costa Rica to witness the future of global healthcare.”

What makes Costa Rica a Leader in Medical Tourism?

Costa Rica first gained prominence as a medical hot spot when American citizens began to travel to this popular Central American nation for inexpensive medical procedures…generally 50%-70% less expensive than the same procedures in the US. Medical tourism gained in popularity in Costa Rica as thousands of happy patients returned to the US and spread the word about their high-quality care, English-speaking doctors, and their incredible tropical vacation, all for a fraction of the price of the same procedures in the US. Inexpensive airfares and Costa Rica’s location only 3-6 hours by plane from most major U.S gateways has made Costa Rica one of the top medical tourism destinations for North Americans. in fact, some 30,000 “health & medical tourists” visited Costa Rica in 2009.

The most popular medical tourism procedures are:

• Orthopedics, Bariatric & Cardiovascular (22%)

• Cosmetic Procedures (12%)

• General Medical Treatments (14%).

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