The Kick-off meeting of the project InMed-Tour – “Innovative Medical Tourism Strategy”, co-funded for 897.703,80 euro by the Interreg V-A Greece-Italy Programme 2014-2020, was held on 9 October in Ioannina (Chamber of Ioannina Prefecture).
The National Organization for Health Care Services Provision – EOPYY- (Regional Directorate of Ioannina) is the lead beneficiary of this project in cooperation with two Greek partners, the Ministry of Tourism and the University of Patras – Special Account for Research Grants, Department of Business Administration and two Italian partners, the Municipality of Santa Cesarea Terme and the Chamber of Commerce of Brindisi.
InMed-Tour project, financed under Priority Axis 1 – Innovation and Competitiveness, introduces a new type of touristic product called “health tourism”, which refers to the process of traveling outside the country of residence for the purpose of obtaining medical treatment. The project will deliver a cross-border effort for bringing together the health and research industries with the local enterprises. This will be achieved through the creation of a modern e-Cluster, where medical information from both countries will be stored for the exchange of know-how and good practices. The e-Cluster will lead to the development of cooperation and networking services, access to research and innovation capabilities.
An e-Tour Facilitator will also be developed, which focuses on the end-users of the health tourism product, namely the patients/tourists. This platform will offer matching services for the patients looking for health and touristic units to receive the treatment. Overall, the project will deliver a new touristic product with high added value and will bring together research entities with enterprises to improve their access to R&D and Innovation.