As the potential for Jamaica’s indigenous herbal wonders and natural resources continue to remain largely untapped, president of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) Robin Russell believes that as a country we’re just barely scratching the surface as it relates to health tourism.

Already a global leader in the recreational tourism space, Russell, speaking with the Jamaica Observer recently, said there is lots more value that can be extracted from the lucrative sector if we can seriously exploit more of our rich natural and cultural assets.

“Health and wellness tourism through its vast offerings presents a very good opportunity for us to further diversify the tourism product. Tourists are also now looking for different experiences, hence, the more we can offer, the better our chances to further grow the sector each year,” he further told the Business Observer.

“I believe with the completion of Cornwall Regional and all our other medical facilities we will be able to add more strength to our local health sector. On the therapeutic side, we’ve been doing a lot of retreats in terms of medicinal mushrooms and other forms of therapy such as yoga, which have all helped to present better opportunities for us as a country.

“I think one of the things that we’ve, however, not been able to fully extract full potential from is our natural spas such as Milk River, Bath, and others. Similarly, another area we’ve noticed coming out of our annual health and wellness forums is also the use of the natural herbs we have, much of which possess vast amounts of medicinal value. Whether it’s the castor oil or guinea hen weed, the potency of our local herbs and the way people have been using them together or individually as treatments for various illnesses is becoming increasingly popular, rife with rich opportunities,” he added.

The JHTA head, pointing to a growing number of pharmaceutical drugs now having adverse side effects, said that the rise in popularity of these natural herbs when used as potions or ointments carries vast potential on emerging as much safer alternatives.

“As more people continue to tap into this area in search of natural cures, it also presents huge opportunities for further development of the burgeoning health tourism market. It is now seen where more and more people have been coming to Jamaica and taking these products back, even in their raw forms, to their countries of origin overseas. Based on these development, we’ve seen where there is definitely huge potential, and I’m curious to see where we can go with it,” he stated.

Currently said to be lacking sufficient research and adequate levels of investment, the medical tourism segment, if properly developed, he believes, can add significantly to Jamaica’s booming tourist product which last year brought in approximately 4.3 million visitors and $4.3 billion in earnings.

“I think we have only so far been scratching the surface when it comes on to health tourism, as I don’t think we have done the full research which draws on the expertise of academics as well the required levels of scientific testing to determine the full potential of these natural products or even to get them to internationally certified levels, which could ultimately help us to extract more value from these resources,” Russell said.

Further touting the export potential of these resources, he said the time has come for us to move beyond exploiting these products in their raw form and move towards having real value added.

“In too many instances we’re only picking these products out of our backyards or going into the bushes for them and using them to do a little thing, what we, however, need to do is to begin to seriously think about cultivating vast acreages of these products so that they can be mass produced and used to further add value to the overall tourism product,” he said, noting that while some of this is already being done, there remains much room for more to be done.

“Tourism is an export product, so when a visitor comes to Jamaica and is able to try a new soap that can cure their eczema, when they go back home it’s likely that they’ll want to buy more and even order for friends and family — further opening the market to the wider world. The potential, therefore, rests with how far our manufacturers can take these products as they work to supply the demand as they unlock greater value added,” he also said.

Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett, speaking at the sixth health and wellness conference held in Montego Bay last November, said that with Jamaica having more than 300 medicinal plants, its abundant stock of natural resources provides a competitive edge which should be exploited to attract more of those travellers seeking transformative experiences beyond the usual sun, sea, and sand or leisure offerings.

In 2023, the Government, collaborating with the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the Jamaica Promotions Corporation (Jampro) had indicated that it would be moving to formulate a health tourism policy which is to become an essential framework that will outline the regulations, guidelines, and procedures for promoting and regulating medical tourism in the country.

Health tourism, popularly viewed as people travelling from one country to another in search of medical treatment, has over the last few years grown to become an international trend set by consumers seeking to enhance their well-being through travel experiences.

With costs for some treatment options in Jamaica said to be about 50-70 per cent less when compared to that of countries such as the US, Government, in taking steps to improve the local health-care sector, Bartlett said, has seen the country in recent times setting its sight on becoming a leader in the global health and wellness market.

A report by Jampro, done on the global health tourism market more than a decade ago, shows where, at that time, more than 8 million people worldwide were said to be travelling for medical procedures. In flocking to a number of popular countries they were found to be seeking out mainly elective procedures, ranging from cosmetic surgeries, laser services, and other alternative medical solutions as part of their treatment regimen.

“With its reputation for world-class medical professionals, strong network of diagnostic facilities, indigenous natural herbs and mineral spas, great hospitality and being near shore to the world’s largest source market for medical tourists, Jamaica is uniquely positioned to be successful in this fast-growing industry,” the report stated.

Russell, in further highlighting Jamaica’s unique position as a player in the global health tourism market, said that while it remains home to a wide variety of indigenous plants having good medicinal properties, also said that as a country “we continue to take this for granted as we miss out on a number of great opportunities from which we can truly benefit”.

“We need to choose a handful of these natural remedies and really put some research behind understanding more about them, as we also undertake the necessary investments needed to develop the industry so that outside of tourists coming here to benefit from them; we can also begin to package and expor —, after which the sky is the limit,” he said.