A pioneering event promoting the Philippines as a world-class health and wellness destination will have a rerun on January 26-28, 2024, at the SMX Convention Center at the Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City. Dubbed the Health & Wellness CONFEX 2024, the three-day event will gather under one roof the stakeholders of the multi-trillion-dollar health and wellness industry – from award-winning wellness resorts to globally accredited hospitals that provide medical tourism packages, all the way to organic farms and specialty shops that offer a wide array of innovative, sustainable and eco-friendly health and wellness products and services.
With the theme “Go &Get Better,” the event highlights the promotion of regenerative tourism, which, in essence, is a strong call for making the places we visit better than we found them and pursuing economic growth while managing the social and environmental impacts of our visit. The event is, in fact, the centerpiece of a global multi-media campaign that aims to showcase the country’s many health and wellness destinations and will feature an exhibit, a conference, business matching sessions, and various experiential activities. It is considered the only trade fair in the Philippines promoting health and wellness tourism, products, and services.
The ConFex will also launch its innovative television travel show-vlog that will allow viewers to explore the fascinating world of health and wellness amid the breathtaking natural wonders of the Philippines. Called OTW, the acronym for “On Travel & Wellness,” it will take viewers on a virtual trip to the country’s many tourist spots while highlighting, at the same time, the importance of wellbeing, of keeping healthy and safe while leading an active lifestyle.
The 13-episode show will provide stunning views of the sun-kissed beaches, magnificent dive sites, towering mountains, and verdant woodlands that the Philippines is famous for, and it will also provide an in-depth look at the country’s diverse wellness practices – including traditional healing arts – through compelling anecdotes and discussions with regional experts. OTW will air on GMA 7’s GTV. On its third day, the event will likewise hold a Wellness Festival called Masigabo with various programs and activities that pay tribute to the industry and sacrifices of the migrant workers, better known as overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
On-hand activities are designed to make them feel better, relaxed, and loved. Health and wellness experts will also deliver talks about financial health, physical wellness, beauty, sustainability, environmental protection, government regulations, and more.
Health & Wellness CONFEX 2024 is co-presented by the Department of Tourism (DOT), in partnership with the Department of Health DOH), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA), Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), Duty Free Philippines (DFP), and Tourism Promotions Board (TPB). The event is likewise supported by the following: Sponsors: Lifecore Bio Integrative Inc., Dean and Deluca Philippines, The Zen Institute, Enjoy Health, Aba Padres Hydroponics, Conrad Manila; Event Partners: Philip Dizon, Ark of Dreams, Market Social, Tourism Congress of the Philippines, Wellness Tourism Association of the Philippines, Philippine Green Building Initiative, SMX Convention Center, IQ Capture Printing Corporation, and DigitalCircles;
Media Partners: GMA Network, ABS-CBN Corporation, GMA 7 GTV, Aliw Channel 23, Business Mirror, and DOOH PH The Health & Wellness CONFEX is spearheaded by a team of seasoned event organizers, wellness advocates, travel & tours agencies, and marketing & communication professionals, as headed by the country’s wellness guru, Cory Quirino, its Executive Director. For any inquiries or to participate in Health & Wellness CONFEX 2024, you can reach its Secretariat by email at secretariat@wellnessconfex.com or by phone at 09277227670 (attention: Sarah Timonera).
January 26-28, 2024 SMX Convention Center Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City, Philippines
The Health & Wellness CONFEX is the only international B2B2C trade fair, sourcing platform, business matching, knowledge exchange, and brand showcase exclusively focused on sustainable wellness & lifestyle products and services with one objective of promoting the Philippines as a world-class destination for health and wellness. It was launched in partnership with the Philippines’ Department of Tourism and the Tourism Promotions Board in April 2018 at the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai, UAE, the biggest travel show in the Middle East, alongside a festivity for Filipinos dubbed as “Kabayan Fiestahan.”
The event was held in 2019 at the SMX Convention Center participated by key players in the wellness & medical tourism sectors and by various related industry stakeholders. It is considered the pioneer and the only trade fair of its kind in the Philippines. A series of webinars dealing with the virus and health & wellness, in general, took the place of this modest wellness tourism campaign during the pandemic, together with the television program “Graceful Living” aired on ANC Channel and hosted by Cory Quirino, focusing on the hows and whys of healthy living.
The 2024 event will even be a greater version with the following segments:
● Conference and Exposition (ConfEx) on January 26-28, 2024 at SMX Manila
● On Travel & Wellness (OTW), a TV-Vlog Travel Show on GMA 7’s GTV
● Philippine Wellness Festival dubbed Masigabo in honor of Filipino Migrants 2024 Theme: “Go & Get Better: Regenerative Tourism Recharges All”
With its theme “Go & Get Better: Regenerative Tourism Recharges All”, this event will raise awareness of the criticality of traveling with a mission to contribute to regenerative tourism. It urges everyone to be aware of having more purposeful intentions as they travel. Embracing a contributive mindset to support regenerative tourism enables us to help communities & tourist sites recover and progress as we explore them. “Go & Get Better Metaverse App” Powered by Ark of Dreams (AOD)
The Health & Wellness CONFEX 2024 is supported by Ark of Dreams (AOD), a technology company that levels up brand user’s experiences with its interactive rewards platform, allowing the customers in engaging quests to redeem rewards from partnered brands. By downloading the “Go & Get Better Metaverse App”, the visitors at the Media Launch and the ConFex proper will be asked to explore the attractions or exhibitions, take part in the described quests, and earn points that entitle them to get the rewards from the participating exhibitors.
“Go & Get Better”: The Deca-Wellness Tenets
The idea of taking responsibility not only for one’s well-being but that for a community and nature may be challenging, if not downright daunting. For this reason, the Health & Wellness CONFEX with its “Go & Get Better” campaign has come up with a lifestyle guide to wellness that is easy to understand and follow. Dubbed The Deca-Wellness Tenets, 10 key steps towards a better you and a better world are propounded for people to observe.
Why Support This Noble Initiative
The global wellness economy according to Global Wellness Institute was valued at US$4.9 trillion in 2019. It slowed down to US$4.4 trillion in 2020 due to the widespread impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the industry posted US$5.6 trillion and is predicted to grow by an average of 9.9% per year to reach nearly US$7.0 trillion in 2025.
In 2020, the Philippines ranked #21 in the Global Wellness Economy Country Rankings, behind our ASEAN neighbor Indonesia (#19), but ahead of Thailand (#24), Malaysia (#26), Vietnam (#33), Singapore (#44), Myanmar (#71), Cambodia (#85), and Laos (#113). This shows that the country has the potential to rank among the Top 10 Wellness Economy Markets soon with the strong support of the government and the collective efforts of the private stakeholders.
“On Travel & Wellness” (OTW)
OTW is an innovative television travel show-vlog that takes the viewers on a fun, vibrant, and informative virtual trip to the country’s breathtaking tourist spots while highlighting the importance of well-being, maintaining health, and staying safe while leading an active life. Apart from captivating the viewers with stunning views of the sun-kissed beaches, magnificent dive sites, towering mountains, and verdant woodlands that the Philippines is famous for, it also takes an in-depth look at the country’s diverse wellness practices – including traditional healing arts – through compelling anecdotes and discussions with experts.
In short, OTW shows how travel can be a way to refresh, revive, and bring back balance and harmony to one’s life. This 30-minute, 13-episode show will be aired on GMA 7’s GTV. The Philippine Wellness Festival: “Masigabo” The Philippine Wellness Festival dubbed “Masigabo” is a celebration of life, love, togetherness, and family. Envisioned to be a campaign for Filipinos to start living a healthy lifestyle, it is a program educating the people on the basics of a healthy lifestyle, like eating the right food, getting enough sleep, and doing simple exercises, among others. The expected result of this campaign is “wellness of community” where love abounds and people grow as one happy individual.
Forming part of the Health & Wellness CONFEX, “Masigabo” pays tribute to Filipino Migrants in recognition of their sacrifices and contributions to strengthening our economy and securing the well-being of their families back home. “Masigabo” is a Filipino word for loud and hearty that is often used in the phrase “masigabong palakpakan”, which means a loud and cheerful round of applause – and that is exactly what Filipino migrant workers, better known as Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW), deserve.
Aptly referred to as the Philippines’ new heroes, OFWs have faithfully sent money to their families back home for years, which immensely contributed to the Philippine economy with their remittances reaching US$36.14 billion in 2022 alone. Our vision is to reach out to as many Filipino migrants as we can beyond Philippine shores through a wellness tourism roadshow, a global campaign that seeks to promote the country as a world-class health and wellness center. With so many Filipinos living, residing, or working abroad, “Masigabo” seeks to encourage Filipino migrants to become our country’s active tourism ambassadors to help speed up realizing our goal.
