“If you host it….they will come”
August 2, 2016As I checked into the Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens, Greece for the 2015 International Travel and Health Insurance Conference (ITIC), I could not ignore the irony of the conference location. Standing as a backdrop to the hotel’s conference setting, was one of Athens’ most iconic monuments – the original Olympian Stadium. This venue that stood as testament to the Greek’s belief in and influence over optimal health was indeed the stadium for the first Olympic Games.
Now centuries later, over 700 attendees from all over the world gathered at the conference to discuss the future of international healthcare.
There is a unique energy that defines the gathering of this international circle of delegates. Feeding off this dynamism, we convened fifty-two meetings over the course of six days and five nights. “Impossible”, you say? Not so, when you have the knowledge and passion for healthcare innovation and the proven expertise need to advance the profession. Myself, along with my New Frontier Group colleagues in attendance, started each morning with breakfast meetings, followed by attending ITIC networking sessions, interactive panel discussions and case study forums. To enhance networking opportunities and to introduce New Frontier Group’s 360 Total Solutions program to insurance, health care, and medical tourism decisions makers, New Frontier Group hosted 3 VIP Cocktail receptions. (More to follow on our VIP Cocktail receptions in next week’s blog!) Dinner meetings after the cocktail receptions were then followed by late night discussions with more introductions and dialog with both current clients and new prospects.
Exhausting? Yes. Exhilarating? Yes. Exceeding our expectation? Yes. Yes. Yes. The interest in New Frontier Group was phenomenal. Everyone was extremely positive to find that there are options to Cost Containment partners that are not owned by large insurance companies that directly compete with existing clients on both travel and expat portfolios. The Assistance Companies, the Insurance Companies, and the underwriters are looking for alternatives and they were blown away by our product solutions, by our capacities and by our independent ownership situation.
As I close, let me take one step away from the conference for a moment. I have been so fortunate to have worked in the international healthcare field for over 25 years. I have friends from many countries and many regions, including Paris, France. So it is with my most heartfelt sentiments that I send my thoughts and prayers to our international friends in Paris.
