Commentary: A boom for the Philippines in medical tourism

The Philippines could tap a gold mine in the next frontier in tourism-medical services, says Tony Lopez in a commentary published in The Manila Times. Medical tourism could actually be more lucrative than ordinary travel for leisure tourism: "The fees are high, the clients are predisposed to spend oodles of money, and the facilities, world class, are already here in the Philippines, at a price just a third to half of the U.S. rates," Lopez says. But a study conducted by Deloitte does not even mention the Philippines as among the destinations for medical tourism in Asia or Southeast Asia, Lopez notes.