Enabling the wellness tourism sector

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines is on its way to becoming a global health and wellness destination, thanks to the Department of Tourism (DOT) and Department of Health — and PLDT-SME Nation will be there as the primary enabler for connectivity between Filipino healthcare providers and their patients.

Sixty representatives from the DOT, DOH and the private sector gathered at the recent Health and Wellness Stakeholders Meeting at the Cav Restaurant in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

Together with PLDT-SME Nation, they mapped out various strategies to improve the health and wellness industry. Those in attendance included representatives from the health and wellness, retirement and tourism sectors.

“Solidifying the organization of all the stakeholders involved in health and wellness services, retirement and tourism will provide the necessary drive for the Philippines to become a major player in the global healthcare industry,” said Philippine Medical Tourism program manager Dr. Anthony Calibo of the DOH.

The meeting was led by DOT director Cynthia Lazo, DOH Assistant Secretary Elmer Punzalan, PhilWell’s Cathy Turvill, and DOT Undersecretary for Sports and Wellness Tourism Cynthia Carrion, who recently bagged the prestigious “Personal Trainer of the Year” award at the IDEA World Fitness Convention in Anaheim, California.

“We are one of the leading countries in terms of wellness tourism,” said Carrion. “If we are to really get ourselves on top, we need to get our act together to make our country a destination for medical and wellness.”

With Carrion’s leadership, the Philippines has seen an unprecedented rise in wellness and medical tourism, thanks to the campaign that gave the country its niche as the “Heart of Asia.”

PLDT-SME Nation has been fully supporting the DOT-DOH efforts in building up the wellness industry. It has been enabling the telecommunications and Internet connectivity infrastructure for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) such as the private spas and wellness centers in the country.

“We at PLDT-SME Nation are here to back up the technological necessities for the medical and wellness tourism program that the DOT and DOH are promoting. Our country has a lot to offer in terms of this industry and we think that we should be one with this endeavor to put the country’s name on top of the health and wellness sector,” said PLDT-SME Nation vice president and head Kat Luna-Abelarde.

The wellness industry would greatly benefit from what PLDT-SME Nation has to offer such as the myDSL Biz, PLDT Watcher, and Negosyo Boost.

The PLDT myDSL Biz is a high-speed Internet DSL (digital subscriber line) service that provides businesses with quality broadband access at speeds of up to 50 times faster than dial-up.

This enables SMEs in the industry to efficiently send and download heavy e-mails, browse and conduct research on the Internet and host their own websites while running similar business-critical applications over the Web.

The PLDT Watcher is a video monitoring solution perfect for resorts and spa owners. It enables SMEs to check and oversee their business operations anywhere via the Internet, whether it be broadband access or through 3G mobile phones.

On the other hand, the Negosyo Boost packages are bundles of hardware, voice services, and Internet connectivity that provides start-up SMEs and expanding businesses with the necessary tools.

In effect, SMEs in the wellness industry are provided with whatever technology-enabling services they will need.

For more information on what PLDT-SME Nation offers business, call 101-888 or visit www.pldtsme-nation.com.ph.