Tourists could flock to SA for medical care
Vivari Hotel & Spa is a first for Africa
Power couple Anushka Reddy and Mahesh Naidu have introduced the first medical tourism establishment in the country after launching the spectacular Vivari Hotel & Spa by Mantis in Krugersdorp this week.
The hotel and spa makes history as the first of its kind in Africa and construction started 10 years ago. It opened its doors to the public earlier this year.
Sunday World was invited to the launch of the luxurious hotel and spa that also includes a medical wing, and is set within an exquisitely expansive tranquil eco-estate in the outskirts of Mogale City.
Around the opulent hotel is an assortment of birds, with their peaceful sounds, while cascading fountains’ splashing noise nearby echoes through this natural paradise.
The hotel and spa is just a stone’s throw away from the Cradle of Humankind, north of Johannesburg.
The facility offers an aesthetic clinic, a day spa and surgery, using a skincare range specially developed for guests who have had aesthetic procedures done.
Amongst other facilities is the state-of-the-art conference room, a restaurant, surgical theatre facilities and, of course, the 48-room hotel.
Co-founders Reddy, 39, and Naidu, 53, are medical practitioners with specialisation in aesthetic medicine and cardiology, respectively.
The partners said they saw a need for the development of medical tourism in South
Africa after realising how attractive it was in other parts of the world. “I have always been in love with how people react when they see their bodies, sometimes the way they have always wished their anatomy to be but on many occasions, see what they don’t like. Some even cry and this is what made me realise I need to focus on the business of fixing people’s bodies,” said Reddy.
She said their main aim was to put the country on the map as an international destination of choice for discerning patients seeking privacy to do medical procedures.
“We strongly believed we could convince international medical tourists to visit our facility for cosmetic or weightloss surgery, something which would pique interest amongst many people inside the country, as well as inject much-needed tourism revenue into our economy, though hospitality and health.
“We begged and convinced the department of health to give us a medical licence, it proved to be so hard to get one, but we didn’t give up. We foresaw that this kind of facility would not only benefit the medical industry but also the tourism industry, all that translates to job creation and economic growth.”
She said it was heart-breaking when they readied themselves to open the establishment in January 2020, and six weeks later the Covid-19 pandemic hit South Africa, followed by a hard lockdown.
But they were not demoralised as the medicos soldiered on to realise their dream, which cost at least R300-million to build over the past decade.
“We had already been too committed to this dream. We knew we could not give up or sell the dream. A little more patience could not hurt us, that is what we believed, and lo and behold, we live to see that dream come true,” said Reddy.
“What was most important for us though was to create job opportunities in the medical and tourism field, which we
have. If we get support, we hope to expand the business to the country’s two other major cities, Durban and Cape Town.” Tourism minister Lindiwe Sisulu said the hotel and spa was in a perfect place for those who love the finer things in life to indulge in what they enjoy most – being pampered.
“This establishment literally forces people to think beyond the normal because we have narrowed the definition of tourism.
“This place says you can move from distressing to good food, meeting good people and changing parts of your body that you want to change, all under one roof and with the best facilities and entertainment in sunny South Africa,” said Sisulu.
What was important was to create jobs in the medical field
“Life is about travelling to discover the world and yourself because human beings by nature want to inquire, get to know the world, they are all travellers at heart.”