The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) Jakarta Office held its first-ever “2023 Korea Medical Tourism Festival” (2023 KMTF) in Surabaya to promote Korea as one of the best medical tourism destinations in the world. The festival aims to provide a new alternative for people seeking premium healthcare services with advanced technology.
With the theme “Heal We Go Korea,” the festival encouraged people to consider Korea as a place to seek healing and recovery. The event lasted for three days, starting with the Korea Medical Tourism Mart on October 27, 2023, which targeted business stakeholders with B2B consultations. It continued with the Korea Medical Tourism Expo on October 28-29, which was open to the public.
The Korea Medical Tourism Mart on October 27 was attended by 19 Korean institutions, including 12 medical institutions, six medical facilitator companies, and one tourism agency. It provided an opportunity for approximately 120 invitees to discuss potential collaborations, product development, explanations of Korean medical services, and more. During the “Networking Luncheon” session, KTO also signed a business agreement with Hanwha Insurance to promote medical tourism in Korea.
The final part of the 2023 Korea Medical Tourism Festival was the Korea Medical Tourism Expo, which showcased exhibitions from the best institutions in Korea, such as hospitals, clinics, and medical facilitators. Visitors interested in obtaining information about medical services or seeking treatment in Korea could visit the expo at the Grand Atrium Pakuwon Mall in Surabaya. In addition to obtaining information, visitors could also participate in various activities such as Instagram challenges, gift mystery scans, tea therapy kiosks, VR gaming, candle-making, engaging in interesting talk shows, and more.
Cho Hee Jin, the Head of Hallyu Content Department at the Korea Tourism Organization, stated that Hallyu (Korean Wave) is often narrowly defined as just K-pop or K-Dramas. However, through this event, they aimed to showcase the many charms of Korea that can be explored, such as culture, architecture, history, beauty, and the medical industry.
According to Cho Hee Jin, Indonesia is one of Korea’s largest markets for Hallyu-related content and also holds great potential for medical tourism due to increasing awareness of the importance of health. Therefore, they are making efforts to combine these two aspects to satisfy the demand for tourism to Korea, as Korea not only hosts Hallyu but also offers world-class medical facilities and services.