Cairns to become cosmetic surgery hub of Australia

Melbourne, July 27 (ANI): Cairns, a regional city in Far North Queensland, is set to become the IVF and cosmetic surgery hub of Australia.

According to The Australian, after an increase in weekly commercial flights from the US Pacific territory, Cairns tourism operators are cashing in on US defence base workers taking advantage of the cheaper surgery in Australia compared with the US.

Australian Tourism Export Council and Tropical Tourism North Queensland are encouraging medical tourism.

West Australian IVF pioneer John Yovich and partner Doug Yek are set to open a fertility clinic in Cairns in mid-September, in a complex also housing plastic surgeons.

There aim is to target Guam, which has a population of 200,000 and a strong US defence presence, It has no IVF treatment and Cairns is the closest Western city where it is offered.

"The biggest opportunity is the American market because it is very expensive in the US and they are not covered by their health fund," News.com.au quoted Yek as saying.

The medical clinic is expected to boost hotel occupancy through package deals, including the cost of the procedure, massages, flights and accommodation with operators such as Rydges or the Shangri-La. (ANI)