Puerto Vallarta, Mexico - From August 24-26, 2011, the CasaMagna Marriott Puerto Vallarta will host the second Global Forum on Medical Tourism, where national and international speakers will share their views on global trends and opportunities for medical tourism in Mexico.

What is Medical Tourism?

Medical tourism helps one to combine physical wellness with relaxation and leisure in order to be completely rejuvenated after the entire medical treatment. This is also known as healthcare tourism.

In today’s world, medical insurance and costs are very high for just about any type of medical procedure, medical test, or a general practitioner’s visit. Nevertheless, healthcare tourism is becoming increasingly popular worldwide and many people are benefitting from high quality health care and low cost medical expenses, while enjoying a very beautiful and tranquil vacation.

Healthcare tourism is becoming a high demand industry worldwide, and competition is pretty interesting. Countries such as India, Thailand, Singapore, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil and Cuba have been competing for millions of international patients for years - and nowadays, Mexico is quickly becoming one of the world’s favorite medical tourism destinations.

Why Mexico?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2010, 50.7 million U.S. citizens didn’t have any medical insurance. But many of them DO have the economic means to travel to Mexico for medical treatments, largely due to the following factors:

• High quality, yet affordable, medical services
• Fully accredited bilingual physicians
• Modern hospitals with high-tech equipment
• Less expensive prescription medications
• Geographical vicinity to the US and Canada
• Easy air and land connectivity
• Favorable peso/dollar exchange rate
• Excellent accommodations
• Beautiful beaches

These are just a few of the reasons that the 2011 Global Medical Tourism Expo, scheduled to take place at the CasaMagna Marriott Puerto Vallarta Resort & Spa from August 24-26th, is expected to be one of the most important healthcare tourism showcase ever held in Mexico.

Featuring world-renowned speakers sharing their views on current industry trends and how Mexico can position itself as one of the world's top international Medical Tourism destinations, this 2-day congress is sponsored by Vallarta Medical & Wellness Destination and produced in line with Jalisco State Governor Emilio Gonzalez Marquez's call to tap into the ever-growing health and medical tourism industry.