Is medical tourism recession proof?

According to a new report by Global Industry Analysts - ’Specialty Tourism: A Global Outlook’ - medical tourism continues to grow despite the financial crisis.

The tourism sector grew in 2011 with consumer confidence and enthusiasm heading back to pre-recession levels. Medical tourism is expected to exhibit continuous growth in the coming years.

According to the report, medical tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in the tourism industry. Increasing health awareness levels, low medical costs, less waiting time are driving medical tourism, with a significant portion of the tourists flow directed towards developing nations such as India, Brazil and Thailand.

The report claims that Asia-Pacific medical tourism industry accounts for a significant portion of the worldwide medical tourism market, with the region attracting travellers from Europe, North America and Australia largely due to the cost factor. The report reaches this now outdated conclusion, while more recent research tells us that most Asia-Pacific medical tourist business is actually regional from Africa and Asia, while Europeans go to Europe and Americans go to the Americas. 

The research report provides a collection of statistical anecdotes, market briefs, and concise summaries of research findings. The report offers an aerial view of the global specialty tourism sector, identifies major short to medium term market challenges, and growth drivers. Regional markets elaborated upon include the US, Canada, Mexico, Japan, France, Germany, the UK, Russia, China, India, Brazil, Thailand and Malaysia.

The report takes at face value the now discredited claims that surgical procedures in countries such as Thailand, India, or South Africa cost one-tenth of the cost for such procedures in North America or Western Europe.

Important medical tourism markets cited in the report are: Panama, Brazil, Costa Rica, Thailand, India, Malaysia and Singapore. It says South Africa, Argentina, Cuba, Jamaica, Hungary, Latvia, Estonia, Dubai and Jordan are emerging as destinations for medical tourism. Eastern Europe countries, particularly Poland, Hungary, and Czech Republic are emerging as major private medical care tourism destinations for Europeans.

Much of what the report says would have been regarded as true two years ago, but the modern medical tourism market is a different animal, and many of the "facts" that the report bases conclusions on, are either outdated or have been proven to be myths.

Source - imtj