A recent expo in Beijing shows that travel businesses and medical facilities at home and abroad are looking for ways to tap this growing market.

Rajendra Dhumma is busy making connections with industry players at an international health tourism expo in Beijing in late August.

The man from India has worked as a doctor and a health tour operator over the years.

"We have been sending guests to China, mainly from India, Sri Lanka and Nepal," Dhumma says.

Having been to Guangdong province's Guangzhou and Shenzhen, as well as Jiangsu province's Nanjing, Dhumma says he has found that Chinese herbal remedies have proved therapeutic for his guests who suffered from diabetes, hypertension or simply stress.

His purpose of coming to the Beijing expo was to find out more about health tourism resources and to develop tours for his guests.

Dhumma is one of the many visitors from 12 countries and regions who looked for opportunities at the Beijing International Health Tourism Expo, held over Aug 30-Sept 1.

The health expo was an initiative by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and was first held in 2017.

This year's expo covered an area of 13,000 square meters and featured eight zones, including leisure, therapy, food and holiday destinations.

Also, health tourism experts and tour organizers got together to discuss ways of optimizing the industry to better cater to the changing needs.

Besides, visitors had access to health tourism products at home and from abroad and could experience on-site health services, such as traditional Chinese medicine.

Speaking about the event and health tourism in general, Song Qihui, a senior official from the ministry, says: "The country has paid great attention to its development in recent years."

The State Council has also issued directives to encourage health and medical tourism development across the country, Song says.

In 2016, five national government bodies, including the National Tourism Administration (now part of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism) and the State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine issued guidelines to promote health tourism. These guidelines call for health tourism facilities with distinctive elements to be developed by 2020. And the government has pledged to support medical, health management and leisure facilities in the development of health products.

Speaking about domestic demand, Song says: "Chinese consumption is also a guarantee for the health tourism market."

The donkey-hide gelatin maker Dongeejiao has managed to pack in 1.2 million traveler visits last year, says You Jinhua, vice-president of the company.

The gelatin is a traditional Chinese tonic that is one of the three treasures, along with ginseng and pilose antler, in the bible of traditional Chinese medicine, the Compendium of Materia Medica. It is believed to help in treating blood deficiency, insomnia and lung diseases.

Now, Dongeejiao offers tourists a chance to see how the products are made.

"Visitors can also see the production process.

"The idea is to enable visitors to fully experience the process," says You.

The company, based in the eastern Shandong province, expects the visitor numbers to cross 2.5 million this year.

To date, China has developed 13 health tourism demonstration facilities and 15 innovative zones for traditional Chinese medicine experiences across the country.

Bozhou, in eastern Anhui province, is one of the national health tourism zones that has seen more visitors from across the country, after it was launched in 2016.

"Now, there are about 30,000-40,000 visitors to Bozhou on a daily basis," says Wang Pingwu, the general manager of Huayinzi Biotech, a company in the city.

Many of them are businessmen, and they come for the TCM resources, according to Wang.

"Also, many visitors come to experience health tourism offerings and to see the hometown of the ancient Chinese physician Hua Tuo," Wang says.

"Being a national TCM tourism demonstration zone has helped Bozhou in bringing in visitors and boosting the local health industry."

Separately, Bozhou has developed TCM museums, cuisine and shopping, as well as hot springs, to meet traveler demands.

As for Wang's company, it makes skincare products with local TCM elements, such as peony blossoms and licorice, and rakes in 70-80 million yuan ($9.8-$11.1 million) a year.

Aiming to promote their products, he says visitors can visit one of the biggest peony gardens in China and make their own skincare products with professional guidance from the company.

The health tourism consumption potential has also got the attention of travel operators.

The Beijing-based Utour Group has made major inroads in health tourism.

Yu Hui, Utour's vice-president, says: "Our products which are focused on consultation abroad are very well received."

Tours offering health checks in Japan, Finland, Germany and the United States are very popular, according to Yu.

Many health travelers also want anti-aging treatment in Switzerland and Ukraine, and assisted reproduction treatments in Ukraine, Abu Dhabi and Thailand.

Now, Utour is targeting destinations with distinctive health preservation programs.

So, travelers in China can opt for a 15-day stay on Lushan Mountain in Jiangxi province, where therapeutic treatments are arranged.

Those who want to go abroad can go to hot springs in Japan, or to the seaside in Sochi, Russia.

Medical facilities and tour operators abroad are also eyeing the Chinese market.

Victoria Travel and Coach Tour Pte Ltd from Singapore has recently shifted focus to the Chinese health tourism market after being in the travel market over more than 20 years.

The company now takes Chinese to experience the medical resources in Singapore while arranging fun programs on the side.

"We schedule appointments with local hospitals for our clients and plan activities for a day or two afterward," says Lie Wan Fong, an operations executive with the travel agency.

"Travelers can also go on their own, but it will cost them more," Lie says, adding that they have links with the hospitals, so the costs are lower.

She believes that the health tourism has big potential, considering the number of Chinese travelers going to Singapore for leisure and shopping.

The Shinwa Medical Resort in Japan has been receiving Chinese visitors on a regular basis in recent years.

"We've found that an increasing number of Chinese are now putting a premium on preventive medicine," the resort's marketing manager Ezaki Tatsoto says at the Beijing health tourism expo, where he was also approached by many Chinese organizations.

Explaining why many Chinese go abroad for medical treatment, he says: "Chinese medical facilities are just as good, but people might get a longer time with a doctor in Japan."

For now, cancer screening and vaccine shots are the most popular with Chinese visitors, according to Tatsoto.

The facility now offers a two-day trip featuring health checks in Tokyo or a leisure resort stay at Miyakojima in Okinawa.

The costs range from 100,000 to 500,000 yen ($943 to $4,715), in addition to translation and other costs, such as hotel and transportation.

Explaining why he was at the expo, Tatsoto says: "We have come here to see what the Chinese need and to develop more (pertinent) programs."

Tatsoto says his facility's goal is to receive 30,000 Chinese travelers a year.