Global Medical Tourism: Numbers, Prospects and Problems

Does medical tourism offer potential for countries?

This groundbreaking report looks at the real numbers, opportunities, and problems.

• Medical tourism refers to the practice of individuals traveling across borders to receive medical treatment or healthcare services. 
• Does medical tourism offer potential for countries or is it one big hype?
• This global phenomenon has gained significant traction in recent years due to various factors such as cost savings, high-quality healthcare facilities, and accessibility to advanced medical treatments.
• There are several benefits to a local economy from medical tourism: revenue generation, job creation, infrastructure development, increased tax revenue, promotion of local businesses, and enhanced reputation.
• Patients seek medical tourism for procedures ranging from elective surgeries and cosmetic treatments to complex medical interventions
• Medical tourism has been touted as the next big thing for many years.
• Some countries have been successful while others have been so then faded, while others have failed.
• Many have made promises about becoming profitable and popular destinations but few have succeeded.
• Success does not happen by accident needs large amounts of state time, money, and a real strategy. 
• This report explains why some will be winners and others will be losers.
• It also highlights key safety problems that need to be solved rather than ignored.
• Country profiles and tables offer statistics not available elsewhere 

Key Trends

• The greater proportion of medical travel is regional or domestic within a country.
• The increasing cost of air travel and decreased wish to travel a long distance combined means long-distance medical tourism is fading. 
• Many medical tourists do not seek out the cheapest destination. 
• Much medical tourism is for cosmetic, fertility, or dental treatment.
• Medical tourists are increasingly being courted by nations in an organised way.
• The key drivers for medical tourism are the lack of insurance and services (in the patient’s home country), lower costs, better quality care, procedures unavailable at home, and shorter waiting periods.
• Practices like opening offices in source markets; raising awareness about their competitive edge, effective communication, and offering ease of visa and travel bundled with tourism and treatment are popular strategies.
• Healthcare businesses are setting up physically in another country.
• Domestic medical tourism is often ignored

Overview 

• Most medical tourism reports tell you that it will grow 20% a year as if it is all one.
• In reality, some countries succeed and some fail.
• Some types of medical tourism do better than others.
• Many countries and businesses have failed badly.
• This report has the latest information, trends, facts, and figures on medical tourism.
• Most reports fail to tell you that medical tourism is not one big global market but is made up of sub-segments with differing reasons for medical travel.
• What they also ignore is that while a handful of countries are making money, the amount of time and money the state has spent to make that happen is massive.
• Many countries and businesses have entered medal tourism only to fail after costly expenditure as they believed the hype from so-called experts.
• Some try to tell you that it is all based on US patients, but apart from Mexico, that is not true.
• Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and India get the most business from Asia and Africa, while China and Iran get the most business locally.

Report Package

• Main Report 380 Pages
• 173 Separate Country Profiles

Please Note:

This report does not contain images, diagrams or price comparisons.

It does include facts and figures - with tables when appropriate.