International Society of Travel Medicine

What International Society of Travel Medicine does

The International Society of Travel Medicine (ISTM) is a nonprofit professional medical society founded in 1987-1988 and headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia, USA. It is the largest organization of professionals dedicated to the advancement of the specialty of travel medicine, serving physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals from academia, government, and the private sector across more than five global regions. Its mission centers on the prevention and management of health problems related to international travel and migration.

ISTM's product portfolio is anchored by four core assets: the CTH® (Certificate of Knowledge in Travel Medicine) program, which is a registered trademark and the only globally recognized professional credential in the specialty; the GeoSentinel worldwide surveillance network of clinical sites providing near real-time epidemiological data on ill returned travelers and migrants; the peer-reviewed Journal of Travel Medicine (JTM), delivered as an exclusive online member benefit; and the Learning @ ISTM digital education platform. Supporting offerings include the ISTM Body of Knowledge, the Global Travel Clinic Directory, the TravelMed Forum discussion community, the Travel Unravelled and On The Go podcasts, the Travel Medicine Review and Update Course, and the biennial CISTM conference cycle complemented by regional partnered conferences such as the October 2026 Pan African Travel Medicine conference.

ISTM is funded through five revenue streams: annual membership dues (subscription), biennial CISTM conference and regional conference registration fees (transaction-based, tiered by World Bank country income classification), CTH examination fees administered through Meazure Learning (one-time licensing), educational program fees for courses and webinars (professional services), and Journal of Travel Medicine access (subscription). Distribution is primarily self-serve via the member portal (istm.users.membersuite.com) and the learning platform, with direct engagement at conferences and via the CTH remote testing network. The organization is governed by volunteer leadership including a President (Gerard Flaherty during CISTM19) and President-Elect (Anne McCarthy), supported by a small professional staff (1-10) and nine standing committees plus eleven interest groups.

Name

International Society of Travel Medicine

Legal name

International Society of Travel Medicine

Website

https://istm.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1987

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The International Society of Travel Medicine is the largest nonprofit professional society dedicated to travel medicine, serving physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other clinicians worldwide through the CTH® certification, the GeoSentinel surveillance network, the Journal of Travel Medicine, and global conferences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Medical Society Services

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Incident Management, Alerts & Crisis Communications (THACANAD)

Keywords

• Travel medicine certification
• Professional medical society
• Infectious disease surveillance
• Continuing medical education
• Healthcare professional membership

Headquarters

HQ city

Atlanta

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other health professionals. Members receive access to the Journal of Travel Medicine, discounted conference registration, CTH certification benefits, and other member services.
2. Conference Registration: Revenue from CISTM biennial conferences and regional conferences. Registration fees are tiered based on World Bank country income classifications to promote global accessibility. Includes early-bird, regular, and onsite pricing tiers.
3. CTH Examination Fees: Certificate of Knowledge examination fees for travel medicine professionals seeking CTH designation. The 29th examination is scheduled for November 2025 with remote and in-person testing options through Meazure Learning.
4. Educational Programs: Revenue from the Travel Medicine Review and Update Course, webinars, and other educational offerings available through the Learning @ ISTM platform.
5. Journal of Travel Medicine: Online-only publication available as an exclusive member benefit, though access terms suggest additional publishing revenue opportunities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

ISTM is a nonprofit professional medical society that advances the specialty of travel medicine through member services, the CTH (Certificate of Knowledge) certification program, the biennial CISTM conference, peer-reviewed Journal of Travel Medicine, the Learning @ ISTM educational platform, and the GeoSentinel global surveillance network. It serves physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and researchers working in travel health across academia, government, and private practice worldwide.

Product overview

ISTM operates as a professional society offering a portfolio of educational, certification, research, and surveillance products. The core offerings include the CTH® certification program (Certificate of Knowledge in Travel Medicine), the Learning @ ISTM digital education platform, the Journal of Travel Medicine publication, and the GeoSentinel surveillance network. Supporting products include the Global Travel Clinic Directory, Traveler Resource Hub with fact sheets, TravelMed Forum, the Travel Unravelled and On The Go podcasts, the Travel Medicine Review and Update Course, and biennial CISTM conferences plus regional conferences. Research awards and the Fellows Program provide professional recognition and funding. These products serve physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other health professionals in travel medicine.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CISTM: Conference of the International Society of Travel Medicine - the biennial global conference for travel medicine professionals
• CTH
• GeoSentinel
• Travel Unravelled Podcast
• On The Go Podcast
• Learning @ ISTM

Products and services

• CTH® Program (Certificate of Knowledge in Travel Medicine) A professional certification program that recognizes professionals who have demonstrated expertise in the unique Body of Knowledge associated with travel medicine care and consultation, administered through a comprehensive standardized examination.
• CISTM (Conference of the International Society of Travel Medicine) Biennial global conference providing cutting-edge education, expert discussions, and networking opportunities for travel medicine professionals, with tiered registration pricing based on World Bank country income classifications.
• Regional Conferences (RCISTM) Regional partnered conferences offering region-specific insights into travel medicine and global mobility health trends, such as the 9th Regional Conference in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in October 2026.
• Learning @ ISTM A digital learning platform offering all ISTM educational offerings including webinars, video recordings, resource library, and the Travel Medicine Review and Update Course for travel medicine professionals.
• The Journal of Travel Medicine (JTM) ISTM's online-only peer-reviewed publication providing up-to-date research and original articles on travel medicine, available to all ISTM Members as an exclusive benefit.
• GeoSentinel A worldwide network of experts and clinical sites specialized in tropical, geographic, and travel medicine that combines research with near real-time surveillance of ill returned travelers and migrants, in collaboration with the CDC.
• Global Travel Clinic Directory A directory of ISTM member clinics offering pre-travel immunizations, counseling and medicines to help protect those traveling internationally, providing visibility for member clinics.
• ISTM Travel Medicine Research Awards Research grants awarded to ISTM members to stimulate travel medicine research, supporting comprehensive projects or pilot studies that enable researchers to collect data for larger grant applications.
• Travel Medicine Review and Update Course A comprehensive review course covering the ISTM Body of Knowledge with focus on latest advancements in vaccines, adventure travel, bites and envenomation, food and water exposures, risk assessment, malaria, and special traveler populations.
• Traveler Fact Sheets Free educational fact sheets providing travel health information for travelers, accessible through the Traveler Resource Hub on the ISTM website.

Quantifiable outcome

• Accredited for 23.75 hours of CME credits for CISTM19 conference attendance
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Pan African Travel Medicine FederationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 October 2026The Pan African Travel Medicine Federation partners with ISTM for the 9th Regional Conference of the International Travel Medicine Society, themed 'Going Far Together: Shaping the Future of Travel Medicine in Africa' in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
• National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2026ISTM partners with NFID for joint educational webinars on travel vaccines and infectious disease topics. The June 2026 webinar on 'Strategies for Protecting Patients Before Travel' features NFID Medical Director Robert H. Hopkins moderating with ISTM-affiliated speakers.
• GeoSentinel NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGeoSentinel is a worldwide network of experts and clinical sites specialized in tropical, geographic, and travel medicine. ISTM supports this CDC-affiliated platform that combines research with surveillance of ill returned travelers and migrants.
• International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers (IAMAT)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerIAMAT sponsors the Travel Unravelled podcast and represents a complementary organization in the travel health ecosystem, with shared interest in traveler wellness.
• World Health Organization (WHO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University of Zürich heads the WHO Collaborating Centre for Travellers' Health, with GeoSentinel providing surveillance data supporting WHO's global health monitoring functions.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH): ASTMH is a U.S.-based professional society for tropical and travel medicine clinicians, providing the closest direct peer comparability in membership model, journal publication, conferences, and research awards to ISTM.
• International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID): ISID is an international professional society focused on infectious disease practitioners, with overlapping membership, conferences, and journal activities that overlap with travel medicine.
• International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers (IAMAT): IAMAT is a nonprofit travel health organization that, like ISTM, connects travelers with vetted clinicians and educates on destination health risks; already a podcast and ecosystem partner.

Broad incumbents

• Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA): IDSA is a larger U.S. medical specialty society serving infectious disease physicians, with overlapping curriculum, guidelines, and CME that intersect with ISTM's travel medicine focus.
• European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID): ESCMID is a European professional society for infectious diseases and clinical microbiology with comparable education, congress, and publication offerings overlapping travel medicine content.
• American College of Physicians (ACP): ACP is a large, established internal medicine professional society with analogous membership, journal, CME, and certification economics, providing a model scale benchmark for ISTM's operations.

Emerging players

• International SOS: International SOS is a commercial provider of travel risk management, duty-of-care, and medical evacuation services that increasingly competes with travel medicine professional content and clinics connected to societies like ISTM.
• National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID): NFID is a U.S. nonprofit focused on infectious disease education and vaccination awareness, which co-produces travel vaccine webinars with ISTM and competes for CME and sponsor mind share.

Regional players

• British Travel Health Association (BTHA): BTHA is a UK-based organization serving travel health nurses and practitioners, offering comparable training and resources to ISTM but limited to a UK/EU geography.
• Worldwise Traveller Health Network: Worldwise is a New Zealand-based network providing travel health education and clinic accreditation, with similar practitioner certification scope as ISTM in the Asia-Pacific region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cistm14
• YouTubelearning.istm.org/podcast
• Facebookfacebook.com/travelmedicinesociety
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-society-of-travel-medicine

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about International Society of Travel Medicine