Bangkok--8 Sep--Health Travel Industry Research Society of Thailand
Public Relations professionals and representatives of hospitals, clinics and related businesses in Thailand’s medical service and support industries are convening to organize an international promotion plan for the Kingdom’s medical tourism industry.
Secretary-General Chatree Niramitvijit of the Health Travel Industry Research Society of Thailand (HTRIS Thailand) says the move will energize the hitherto untapped group. “There is an incredible potential which is unrecognized and unutilized at the moment,” he says.
HTIRS Thailand, which also serves as a media watchdog for Thailand’s medical tourism industry, is hosting the electoral assembly of Thailand’s medical PR professionals to be held at the next month in Bangkok.
Business mogul Niwat Kittichaiwong hailed the convention as a potential powerhouse of industry-level data that benefits not only Thailand’s businesses but also clients in the international market seeking quality information about Thailand’s medical tourism industry.
Niwat Kittichaiwong
Mr. Kittchaiwong, who heads Holistic Medical Centre, said that the assembly “recognizes the yet-untapped potential of Thailand’s PR professionals in the medical sector; they have the experience and they have a working knowledge of the industry not available elsewhere, and they have an enormous collective power ready to be tapped.”
“Medical Public Relations is important because often the first time a patient hears about a new procedure or drug, it's from the media,” says R. Scott Lorenz, president of Westwind Communications in Michigan. “The message of safety, convenience, and success must be conveyed because medical consumers are much more reluctant to be among the first to accept a new medical technique than are buyers of automobiles, computers, furniture or fashion.”
R. Scott Lorenz
Mr. Lorenz has worked with prominent doctors to develop successful marketing campaigns for plastic surgery, Lasik surgery, dental surgery, liposuction and Botox. “Among the most successful methods is to arrange for radio, television and sports personalities to have the surgery or treatment free and then give testimonials on how great this new surgery or treatment has been for them,” Mr. Lorenz said. He has also arranged for endorsements by popular sports, TV and radio celebrities to help convince customers that an elective medical procedure is safe and desirable to use.
HTIRS Thailand, a non-profit Research Society, is Thailand’s industry watchdog for information, improvement and promotion for Thailand’s medical tourism industry and its support sectors.
Westwind Communications is a premier medical marketing and medical public relations firm in the U. S. that introduced various elective surgery procedures to the media.
Holistic Medical Centre is a medical mall with world-renowned doctors and top Thai specialists in medical care, health and beauty, holistic and traditional medicine serving regional and international residents as well as tourists.