Positioning the State of São Paulo as a destination focused on health tourism is important for Brazil and Latin America as a whole, as the region needs better hospitals and specific medical treatments, which have a strong appeal to international investors.
The opinion is of the secretary general of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), Zurab Pololikashvili, who participated in the first “Broadcast São Paulo Pra Todos”, addressed to businessmen of the sector, last Tuesday (2) afternoon.
“Positioning São Paulo as a health destination is an important issue for the Americas, not only for Brazil, as the region needs good hospitals. I'm not just saying public hospitals, but specific treatments,” said Zurab.
The debate was led by the Secretary of Tourism of the State of São Paulo, Vinicius Lummertz, host of the event. "Among the advantages of São Paulo are the air network, since the State is the main hub in the region, and a wide hotel chain," said the secretary.
The live broadcast also addressed the Brazilian potential to receive resorts integrated with casinos, a market that attracts large investments, mainly from China and Southeast Asia, a theme defended by Lummertz since he was Minister of Tourism.
The broadcast was the first in a series promoted by the São Paulo State Secretariat for Tourism. The debut event had an audience of 1,300 spectators. The proposal is to hold these virtual meetings every fifteen days. In addition to the secretary general of the WTO, researcher and PhD Dan Wang, professor at the School of Hospitality and Tourism at the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong, China, was also invited to this edition.
In his exhibition, Zurab Pololikashvili reported the example of the Spanish archipelago of the Canary Islands, located in the Atlantic Ocean, off the northwest coast of Africa. Upon returning to activities, the local government will issue electronic certificates, a type of digital health passport to certify that tourists are not contaminated and monitor these visitors.
Professor Dan Wang, on the other hand, presented examples of the use of technology and smart destinations. According to the researcher, to encourage visitors, some Chinese airports have started to adopt solutions with 100% autonomous services, avoiding direct contact between passengers and service teams, to avoid queues and crowds.
“People need to travel, it is the nature of human beings. Commercial activities will push travel back to normal, but the big question is how we are going to proactively prepare to give travelers confidence,” said Dan Wang.
During the first “Broadcast São Paulo Pra Todos”, businessmen and professionals in the area were able to submit questions and suggestions. One of the highlights was the simultaneous translation by caption, which facilitated the monitoring and interaction, receiving many compliments from the participants. The next edition will be on June 16.
Souce: GMB
