Contribution
Sector Description
Health and Wellness Industry
The Health and Wellness Services industry belongs to the services sector. It caters to the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for health and wellness purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited said by the National Statistical Coordination Board (2007). Establishments belonging to the industry, therefore, are in engaged in:
1. hospital care and treatment – refer to services offered by public and private hospitals, sanitaria and other similar services such as medical care, surgical care, women’s health, dental care, and optometric;
2. specialty clinics – pertain to general public and private medical services such as dental and laboratory services, and other human health services (i.e., public and private ambulance services, private child care clinics, services provided by midwives, physiotherapists, etc.); 3. wellness and spa centers – consisting of enterprises that provide physical and well-being services including but are not limited to sauna and steam bath services, slendering and body-building services, nutrition counseling, massage, reflexology, facials, nail care, waxing, and body treatments, etc.; and
4. retirement and rehabilitative care – comprised of residential institutions, that care for the aged and orphans, and the rehabilitation of people addicted to drugs or alcohol. Although recognized by the Philippine government as a significant contributor to the country’s quest for rapid economic growth and development—particularly through medical tourism, Virola and Polistico (2007) maintain that information on the health and tourism sector are “’hidden’ somewhere under Personal Services or Medical Services of the [Philippine System of National Accounts] PSNA” and the Philippine Tourism Satellite Account (PTSA). Consequently, data constraints deprive
Health and Wellness Industry
The Health and Wellness Services industry belongs to the services sector. It caters to the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for health and wellness purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited said by the National Statistical Coordination Board (2007). Establishments belonging to the industry, therefore, are in engaged in:
1. hospital care and treatment – refer to services offered by public and private hospitals, sanitaria and other similar services such as medical care, surgical care, women’s health, dental care, and optometric;
2. specialty clinics – pertain to general public and private medical services such as dental and laboratory services, and other human health services (i.e., public and private ambulance services, private child care clinics, services provided by midwives, physiotherapists, etc.); 3. wellness and spa centers – consisting of enterprises that provide physical and well-being services including but are not limited to sauna and steam bath services, slendering and body-building services, nutrition counseling, massage, reflexology, facials, nail care, waxing, and body treatments, etc.; and
4. retirement and rehabilitative care – comprised of residential institutions, that care for the aged and orphans, and the rehabilitation of people addicted to drugs or alcohol. Although recognized by the Philippine government as a significant contributor to the country’s quest for rapid economic growth and development—particularly through medical tourism, Virola and Polistico (2007) maintain that information on the health and tourism sector are “’hidden’ somewhere under Personal Services or Medical Services of the [Philippine System of National Accounts] PSNA” and the Philippine Tourism Satellite Account (PTSA). Consequently, data constraints deprive