Medical Tourism Expo at the 19th AKWAABA

Medical Tourism Expo at the 19th AKWAABA

AKWAABA African Travel Market to host the 2nd edition of African Medical Tourism Expo at the 19th AKWAABA

After the Success of the 2022 edition hosted in partnership with Turquaz Medical Group from Turkiye, the dates for the 2023 edition hold from the 3rd – 5th of September.

Over the years, AKWAABA African Travel Market has grown to become the most important travel marketing platform in West Africa and is among the Top 5 Tourism events in the Continent drawing attendance from many countries within and outside Africa such as but not limited to The Gambia, Kenya, Uganda, Dubai (UAE), Ghana, Seychelles, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Africa and Turkey.

The organisers will again give a lot of attention to Medical Tourism at the 19th edition of the event because of the increasing importance of Medical Tourism in Africa.

The 18th edition of Akwaaba which was the first outing of the Medical Tourism expo had the participation of Lagos State Ministry of Health, Turquaz Health, Turkey, Lagos State Health Management Agency (LASHMA), Medical Park Hospitals, Turkey, Emergency Response Agency (ERA) and Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI).

According to National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), $1.2billion is lost to medical tourism yearly in Nigeria. Before the dawn of COVID-19, reports suggested that almost 5,000 people leave the country monthly for various forms of treatment abroad.

Also, Price Waterhouse Coopers, PwC, noted that 60% of medical tourism abroad is to access treatment in four key specialties, which are Oncology, Orthopedics, Nephrology and Cardiology. These underscore the importance of this type of Tourism and the need to examine the role of Health Travels in the growth of Tourism and Travel.

The World is thinking about wellness and Health as in integral part of Tourism. Recently United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) had a joint program with the World Health Organization (WHO) to streamline their strategies.

The “Montenegro Statement” recognizes that health and tourism are deeply interconnected in the globalized world.

Leisure and Corporate Travel had been the leading source of Travel Business out of and into Nigeria and West Africa.

There will be a B2B session on Medical Tourism on 5th September along with a Panel Discussion of Experts from both receiving countries and departing destinations.

There are great opportunities for both Domestic and Regional Medical Tourism in Nigeria and these ought to be promoted. Nigeria also needs to play a part in Medical Tourism.

Akwaaba is the premier Travel Market in West Africa “where Africa meets the World”.
Akwaaba has hosted Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Former President Dawda Jawara of The Gambia, Former Secretary General of the Commonwealth Sir Emeka Anyaoku, Former Vice President of Nigeria Sir Alex Ekwueme, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator Remi Tinubu, many Ministers of Tourism from different African Countries and some State Governors. Many Ambassadors and High Commissioners attend AKWAABA regularly.