Moldova hosts Global Healthcare Travel Forum

The 7th edition of the Global Healthcare Travel Forum has been held in Chisinau. During the five discussion panels, professionals from tourism, health, and new technologies sectors discussed the challenges of global healthcare travel, including the advantages brought by new technology and Artificial Intelligence in patients’ care.

Attending the event, Culture Minister Sergiu Prodan said that the Forum was a strategic platform for dialogue, innovation and international collaboration, supporting a rapidly growing industry.

“It is an event synonymous with our mission to transform tourism into a driver of understanding, respect, and progress,” said Sergiu Prodan.





The participants in the meeting discussed the perspectives and development possibilities for Moldova as a reference destination in healthcare travel, as well as the investment opportunities available in the country.



“For Moldova to reach one billion euros in revenue from healthcare tourism in the next ten years, it needs to facilitate patient access to eVisa and continue promoting healthcare travel, as it has done in the past two years,” emphasized the founder of the Global Healthcare Travel Council (GHTC), Emin Cakmak.



“Moldova is writing an important chapter in the history of healthcare tourism. We are happy that international patients increasingly choose our country for the quality of services provided by private clinics and for the professionalism of our doctors,” declared the ATMM & GHTC President, Natalia Ciobanu.





Participants from 48 countries visited more clinics and hospitals in Moldova, in order to make sure firsthand that Moldova has huge potential to host and treat foreign patients. They also visited the Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, where over 1,800 foreign students are studying.





“By organizing this forum, Moldova shows that it is open to innovations, investments in the field of healthcare tourism and has huge potential to become a regional center of excellence in Europe,” said Andrei Revenco, founder and CEO of the Healthcare Tourism Association of Moldova.

At the Forum, the next country to assume the presidency of the GHTC for the next two years was elected. There were two candidate countries: Saudi Arabia and Poland.



Following the secret vote of the GHTC member countries, with just one vote difference, Poland emerged victorious. The country will take over the presidency starting from April next year, when Moldova's term ends.

The Global Healthcare Travel Forum was organized by the Healthcare Tourism Association of Moldova, together with the National Tourism Office, under the auspices of the Global Healthcare Travel Council (GHTC) and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova.