Over 60 delegates at the Health and Wellbeing Conference  from in tourism, health, medical and government sectors heard international experts discuss the opportunities available in the health and wellness Australia travel sector.

At the end of the conference delegates issued the Cairns Declaration; a document outlining Australia’s planned entry into the growing medical tourism sector.

 “The Cairns Declaration is a landmark document for the Australian inbound tourism industry,” Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) managing director Matt Hingerty said.

“For the first time we have a formal statement from tourism and health professionals agreeing to work together to build a viable new tourism sector for Australia. “Countries such as Singapore and Dubai are already investing billions in building new hospitals and other facilities to cater for the forecasted boom in medical travel in the decades to come. It’s time Australia did the same.

“The fact that the populations in all of our major source markets are ageing provides us with a new opportunity to attract high-spending overseas tourists to our shores and experience our unique environment and attractions,” Hingerty said.

To visit Australia for tourism purposes, unless you have an Australian or New Zealand passport, visitors will need to obtain an Australian travel visa. The most common Australian travel visa is the ETA visa, which allows the holder to enter Australia for tourism purposes for up to three months.