By SHALENDRA PRASAD
The availability of world-class healthcare is a prerequisite for sports tourism, says former Fiji College of General Practitioners (FCGP) president Dr Ram Raju.
Speaking at the website launching of the inaugural PSH Hospitals Pan Pacific Hash 2027, Dr Raju who is the event director of this upcoming event that is dubbed as the biggest sports tourism event in the country said many international sporting events have been cancelled in the past because of the unavailability of state-of-the-art medical services.
“The presence of Pacific Specialist Healthcare also known as PSH Hospitals has been a game-changer and we will now see more international events coming to Nadi,” Dr Raju said while addressing around a hundred guests who turned up at PSH Hospitals on Friday evening for the launching.
Being no stranger to organising such events, Dr Raju said the last such event called the Interhash 2018 hosted in Nadi generated over $5 million for the Fijian economy with the presence of 2000 runners from across the world.
“Our red dress charity run in 2018 collected $132,000 for the Nadi Subdivisional Hospital and we had received a donation of $300,000 from the previous government to organise an event of such magnitude,” Dr Raju informed.
He said the current government is still contemplating on coming in with the sponsorship this time around and the organising committee will continue to engage with them.
“The generosity of Mr Parvish Kumar, the founder of PSH Hospitals who are our major sponsors and have single-handedly donated $150,000, has enabled us to start the preparatory works for this mammoth event which would have been otherwise jeopardized without financial backing,” Dr Raju said.
Fiji Airways chief customer officer Akuila Batiweti says the national airline which is responsible for bringing in seventy five percent of all tourists in the country is ready to join hands and support this great sports tourism event which will see the arrival of thousands of visitors to our shores.
“I’m sure we can assist the organising committee, that is the Fiji Hash House Harriers do better than what was achieved in 2018,” Mr Batiweti said.
“With the early-bird marketing initiatives and great teamwork between all stakeholders, I am sure the positive economic impact of hosting this event could be doubled to $10 million and the number of visitors could be increased from the previous 2000 runners as well,” Mr Batiweti added.
PSH Hospitals’ founder and chief executive officer Parvish Kumar said he will continue to support events which bring people together and create a positive impact for our economy.
“As a state-of-the-art 130-bed specialty private hospital located right opposite the Nadi International Airport, we are always ready to support sports tourism and medical tourism activities which generally benefits the country,” Mr Kumar said.
He said participants can come and enjoy their run and extended holidays in Fiji without worrying about medical and healthcare needs which will be taken care of by PSH Hospitals in the most professional manner.
The new website which also features online registration for participants can be accessed on www.paph2027.com.
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· Shalendra Prasad is a freelance photojournalist based in Nadi, Fiji
