Why Medical Organizations Partner With MedTreks

CME travel partnerships allow medical organizations, universities, residency programs, specialty societies, and CME providers to offer educational travel experiences without building a travel operations team from scratch.

At MedTreks, we help partners pair their curriculum, faculty, and accreditation with carefully planned travel logistics, trusted local partners, safety support, and destinations that connect naturally to the learning experience. This FAQ explains how MedTreks partnerships work, what your organization keeps ownership of, and what MedTreks manages behind the scenes.

What makes MedTreks different from other CME travel providers?

Most CME travel offerings are built by tour operators adding an education veneer to an existing trip. MedTreks works in reverse: every itinerary is built around your curriculum first. A high-altitude physiology module gets paired with the Andes, wilderness medicine gets paired with Patagonia, global health systems discussions happen alongside real in-country clinical sites. The destination is part of the lesson plan, not a backdrop behind it.

Why would we partner instead of building our own travel CME program?

Building this in-house typically means hiring travel staff, negotiating international vendor contracts, and absorbing significant operational liability — often a 12 to 18 month runway before a single program can launch. MedTreks already has the vetted accommodations, licensed guides, and safety infrastructure in place across 20+ destinations, so your first program can go from discovery call to launch in weeks, not years.

What do we keep ownership of as the education partner?

Everything that makes it yours: your brand, your curriculum, your faculty, and your accreditation. MedTreks never touches credit issuance or regulatory filings. Participants see your name throughout the entire experience, and MedTreks only appears as the logistics partner with your prior written approval.

How does partnering with MedTreks help us stand out from other CME providers?

Accredited credits are largely interchangeable on paper. A physician can earn the same 12 credits at a hospital conference center or in the Sacred Valley of Peru. What differentiates your organization is the experience attached to those credits — and that experience is difficult for competitors to replicate without their own multi-year operational build-out.

How It Works

What does MedTreks actually handle versus what do we handle?

You own curriculum design, faculty, accreditation compliance, and promoting the program to your network. MedTreks owns destination research, accommodation booking, ground transport, licensed guides, registration and payment processing, travel insurance coordination, safety protocols, and 24/7 emergency support during the trip.

Do we have to collect money from participants?

No. MedTreks collects every participant payment directly, start to finish. You are never responsible for billing, refunds, or holding funds. Your only financial relationship with MedTreks is a one-time design deposit and the commission MedTreks pays you afterward.

How does the discovery call lead to a launched program?

A no-cost discovery call establishes your curriculum, accreditation body, and destination interest. You receive a written fit summary within a few business days, then a complete draft itinerary within 15 business days of signing the design agreement, with two rounds of revisions included before anything launches.

How do we earn money from a MedTreks program?

You earn a 10% commission on every participant who registers through your unique referral link, paid out within 30 days of program completion. On a 12-person program at $8,500 per person, that is roughly $10,200 — with zero collection risk on your end, since MedTreks handles all billing.

Is This Right for Us

What kind of organization is the best fit for a MedTreks partnership?

Medical specialty societies, academic medical center CME departments, hospital systems building physician loyalty programs, and CME content publishers looking to diversify beyond conference and online formats all tend to be strong fits — particularly organizations with an established learner base and faculty willing to teach in an immersive, multi-day setting.

How many participants does a typical program need?

MedTreks programs run with 8 to 18 participants. Below 8, destination logistics like guide services and group accommodations stop being cost-effective. Above 18, you lose the intimacy that makes expedition-based CME different from a standard conference, including direct faculty access and real peer connection.

Which destinations can we choose from?

MedTreks offers 20+ destinations across South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. Each one is paired to specific clinical or experiential relevance, so the destination you choose can be matched to your specialty or your learners’ interests rather than picked arbitrarily.

Is this a good fit for a one-time program, or only ongoing partnerships?

It can work either way, but the value compounds over multiple program cycles. As a specific destination-curriculum pairing becomes recognizable as part of your organization’s offering, it builds the kind of brand loyalty a single conference rarely achieves.

Risk & Protections

What happens if a program doesn’t get enough participants?

Every program has a minimum enrollment threshold of 8 confirmed participants, checked 120 days (4 months) before departure. If the minimum isn’t met, the program is cancelled and every participant receives a full refund of everything they paid. Your one-time design deposit is non-refundable in this scenario, since that design work was already completed.

What is our financial exposure if we partner with MedTreks?

Your maximum exposure is a one-time design deposit ($750), or $2,250 if you opt into the optional marketing package. There is no launch deposit and no ongoing financial commitment tied to participant enrollment.

Can a competing organization copy our MedTreks program once we’ve built it?

No. Once you build a program with MedTreks, that destination pairing is protected for five years. You cannot replicate the itinerary independently with another operator, and MedTreks will not offer an identical build to a competing organization.

What safety measures are in place during the trip?

MedTreks builds destination-specific safety protocols, including altitude acclimatization guidance where relevant, defined emergency contact structures, and on-ground medical response procedures. All participants sign a liability waiver, and 24/7 emergency support runs throughout the program.

Have a question that isn’t covered here? Contact the MedTreks Partner Team at info@medtreks.com or 541-205-9980.