Gwangju Metropolitan City to provide compensation for attracting foreign patients.

Gwangju Metropolitan City will strengthen support for the 2022 foreign patient attraction compensation to revitalize foreign medical tourism in regions that have been slumped due to COVID-19 and support the tourism industry.

First, if a foreign patient visiting a medical institution in Gwangju for the first time this year uses an accommodation facility for self-quarantine, part of the accommodation cost for up to 10 days will be subsidized according to the medical expenses.

In addition, as in last year, transportation expenses (KTX, express bus, fuel, toll, etc.) are supported to enhance accessibility, and interpretation and translation services are provided through the Gwangju Medical Tourism Support Center for smooth communication between doctors and patients.

We will also continue to promote support for local foreign medical tourism attraction companies that are experiencing financial difficulties due to the prolonged COVID-19.

If certain criteria are met among attracting medical institutions and attracting businesses registered in the foreign patient attraction information system operated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 3 to 5 million won of promotional and marketing expenses will be supported.

Compensation for attracting foreign patients is supported until the budget is exhausted.

Oh Dong-kyo, head of the Future Industry Policy Division of Gwangju City, said, “Foreign patients visiting Gwangju are mainly from Central Asian countries such as Mongolia and Kazakhstan, and about 80% of them are using medical institutions located in the metropolitan area such as Seoul and Incheon. "We will actively support compensation for attracting foreign patients and make efforts to revitalize local medical tourism," he said.

Reporter Song Hasung