Florida Plans $5 Million Investment in Medical Tourism Marketing: Industry Leaders Warn That Marketing Must Target Key Niche Markets

Online, April 23, 2014 (Newswire.com) - The Goodness Company, an international leader in medical tourism marketing, gave an enthusiastic thumbs up today for Bill HB 1223 sponsored by Rep. Pat Rooney (R-West Palm Beach), which will give the state of Florida $5 million dollars to execute a 4-year-long marketing effort to promote the state as a major American destination for international medical tourism.

At a press conference in Miami Beach, Patrick Goodness, CEO of The Goodness Company commented, "Florida has decided to join this global trend of medical tourism in a meaningful way. With the proper level of investment and strategic marketing planning, I expect great results for Florida's medical providers and travel-related enterprises," said Goodness. "Florida has it all: world-class infrastructure, doctors and surgeons from the best medical schools, state-of-the-art medical equipment and arguably the highest standards of medical care in the world."

"There is perhaps no other state that can expand its global reach more effectively for the growth of medical tourism than Florida. I believe that with the right marketing programs, Florida will stand to attract a larger share of the global health services market, representing approximately 450,000 medical tourists with revenues of $5 billion each year. This bill represents an excellent investment to bolster Florida's reputation as an international patient care destination, but the funds must be invested properly targeting key niche markets" Goodness concluded. "In the international marketplace, experience matters. Targeting the wrong markets with the wrong message will waste these funds and set Florida behind for years, diminishing any competitive advantage that Florida may have gained as an early adopter in the burgeoning medical tourism industry."

The Goodness Company's success is based on its international leadership and experience offering strategic medical tourism marketing services, which are tailored to the specific needs of each destination and organization based on their location, their services, and the needs of their patients. The company has been a key player in the successful development of Costa Rica as an international medical tourism destination through a strategic approach that included the creation of PROMED branding and online marketing tools (http://www.promedcr.com/). Additionally, The Goodness Company has been instrumental in the successful marketing of other medical tourism destinations and hospitals around the world—including Mexico, the Bahamas, Colombia, Panama and more. The Goodness Company is also responsible for the development of an expanding global network of online medical guides.

Florida Bill 1223 was recently passed by the Finance and Tax Subcommittee by an overwhelming majority. The next step is voting by the Appropriations and Economic Affairs Subcommittees where it is expected to pass by a majority as well. The objective of the bill is to create a 4-year-long marketing plan that will promote national and international awareness of the health services in Florida and create full-service health packages with selected healthcare providers. The bill would allocate $3.5 million to the continuous development of this marketing plan and $1.5 million to a matching-grant program with an anticipated significant return on investment.

Florida healthcare leaders, legislators, tourism officials and other stakeholders in the Florida healthcare and medical tourism industry are invited to contact The Goodness Company to participate in an upcoming medical tourism marketing program focused on maximizing the state's planned $5 Million medical tourism marketing investment with a goal of achieving high levels of new international patient acquisition.

Patrick Goodness will also give a lecture at the upcoming PROMED Medical Travel International Business Summit, May 6-8 in Miami Beach. For more information about this medical tourism summit, please email: [email protected]

Contact:
Patrick Goodness, CEO
The Goodness Company: Global Healthcare Marketing
[email protected]
www.GoodnessCompany.com
www.GoodnessHealthcareMarketing.com
Toll-Free: 866-265-1001 x10

To schedule a meeting with Patrick Goodness in Miami Beach, May 6-8, 2014 to discuss medical tourism marketing, please email [email protected]