Greece: Medical & Hospitality Services Key for Health Tourism Development

Photo source: Asklepieia Health Cluster

The interconnection of medical and hospitality services is key for the development of health and wellness tourism in Greece, experts of both sectors agree.

While wellness is a sector well connected with the Greek hospitality industry through innovative partnerships and the operation of in-house state-of-the-art spa centers, there are only a handful of healthcare providers in Greece that offer medical treatments combined with hospitality services.

These providers are active in fast-growing medical sectors such as dentistry, dermatology and plastic surgery.

More specifically, dentistry has managed to become part of the country’s health and wellness industry with all the more tourists choosing Greece for treatments or cosmetic dentistry surgeries.

“Greece offers high-quality dental care by certified doctors and medical units at a lower cost compared to other countries.” said Spyridon Sylvestros, Assistant Professor at the Dentistry School of Athens University, during a workshop held last week by the Asklepieia Health Cluster.

According to Sylvestros, there are dental clinics in Greece that have established partnerships with hotels in efforts to effectively respond to emergency cases but also offer the option to patients to spend a holiday in Greek destinations.

Dermatology has also started to combine medical treatments with hospitality and wellness services in Greece.

Speaking during the same workshop, Dermatologist and Skin Clinics Scientific Director Christoforos Tzermias said that hotel spa centers could ideally incorporate dermatology cosmetic surgery services to their treatments. However a legislative framework is required in order for dermatology certified professionals to be able to offer their services inside hotels.

In addition, plastic surgery – a fast-growing sector in Greece – is attracting more health tourists every year due to the advanced services offered and the numerous recovery options available in Greek destinations.

“Greece offers advanced plastic surgery services due to its high-level scientific personnel which has been trained in leading health clinics and organizations abroad,” Zisis Boukouvalas, Plastic Surgeon and CEO of Anagenesis Medical Group, said during the event.

“It is a constantly evolving sector that could ideally work together with hotels and other tourism service providers including yachting charter companies,” he added.

According to Boukouvalas, the interconnection of plastic surgery clinics and hotels is feasible through the operation of medical units inside hotels or through the hotels’ collaboration with specialized clinics.

Photo source: Asklepieia Health Cluster

The three health experts participated in a workshop titled “Health and wellness tourism: the development prospects of Athens”, that was recently held online by the Asklepieia Health Cluster and the Athens Development & Destinations Management Agency (EATA).

The Asklepieia Health Cluster is a large-scale cooperative network focusing on health and wellness tourism. It connects patients and travelers, hospitality businesses and healthcare providers with the aim to promote Greece’s medical services to potential travelers.

The cluster also encourages B2B collaborations between hotels, tour operators, insurance companies, embassies, chambers and other health and tourism-related organizations.