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The 3^rd Global Medical Tourism Summit, one of the most important events in the medical and health tourism industry, takes place within the conference programme of Russian Health Care Week 2022. 

The summit is organised by the St. Petersburg Tourism Development Committee, the Congress and Exhibition Bureau, and the St. Petersburg Medical Tourism Agency in partnership with EXPOCENTRE AO.   

The conference programme of the 3^rd Global Medical Tourism Summit is spread over two days. The summit opened with a plenary session attended by heads of regional tourism authorities. Participants talked about the development of the medical tourism market in the context of current constraints and new opportunities emerging for the tourism industry, the health and spa sector and medicine.

The event’s moderator, Medical Director at the Health Tourism and Corporate Health Association Mikhail Danilov, noted that new formats had recently emerged where industry representatives participated in events, gaining the opportunity to assess market development trends. According to the moderator, attention should be paid to the points that give potential for growth or, on the contrary, hinder it.

Sangadzhi Tarbayev, Chair at the Russian State Duma Committee on Tourism and Tourism Infrastructure Development, spoke about the prospects of medical and health tourism in the current times of uncertainty. He particularly emphasised that it was necessary to support and develop medical tourism because it had a great potential. The main component is the services provided by medicine to Russian citizens and foreigners alike. 

The speaker drew attention to the systematization of medical tourism structure, creation of a separate register of tour operators that deal with medical tourism, as well as promotion of medical services and training of qualified personnel. Export of medical services in Russia in terms of both regional and international process is more than relevant, said Sangadzhi Tarbaev.

Other speakers were Minister of Resorts and Tourism of the Republic of Crimea Vadim Volchenko, Deputy Chair at the St. Petersburg Tourism Development Committee Yulia Kuzenskaya, Honorary President at the Russian Union of Travel Industry Sergey Shpilko, and Deputy General Director at the St. Petersburg Medical Tourism Agency Irina Saleeva.

The session participants discussed marketing tools in medical tourism, the strategy of medical and health tourism industry development, and new challenges for the industry.

The second day of the summit will feature discussions on medical tourism as a driver of recovery of the tourism industry, and interaction of health and medical infrastructure at the regional and national level in general. There will be a case study session called The Integrative Approach in Medical and Health Tourism.

Press Service, EXPOCENTRE AO