Costa Rica did not become one of the leading dental tourism destinations overnight. The country has been working since 2004 to obtain this title. The Costa Rican Minister of Competitiveness, with the help of Massimo Manzi, has been exploring, studying, and strengthening the dental and medical tourism industry in Costa Rica.
Manzi is the Executive Director of the Council for the International Promotion of Costa Rican Medicine, also known as PROMED. In this interview he discusses the recipe for success in the medical and dental tourism industry. Among the factors for its success, Mr. Manzi credits the investment Costa Rica has made in health education over the past 50-years. The country has a copious amount of doctors and dentists, with 80% of specialists that have studied outside of Costa Rica.
The beautiful and convenient location of the small country has been an advantage for attracting medical travelers. Costa Rica is a famous tourist destination with direct flights from a large number of major US cities. Massimo says, “People are comfortable with the idea of traveling to Costa Rica…The fact that [they] have been to Costa Rica before for tourism [means] the idea of coming here for [health] care is not a big change.”
PROMED ensures that international patients in Costa Rica receive consistent, high-quality medical and dental care. It provides other services such as hotels, medical transportation, recovery retreats, medical travel facilitators, insurance companies, tour operators, law firms, healthcare marketing agencies, and healthcare consultants. PROMED also promotes Costa Rica as a leader in medical tourism, healthcare and wellness travel.
Listen to this interview with Massimo Manzi to hear more about the mix of ingredients that has built Costa Rica into the thriving medical and dental tourism destination it is today.
To learn more about PROMED visit www.promedcostarica.org or contact Massimo Manzi directly at director@promedcostarica.org.