Health tourism is growing rapidly all over the world. The economic situation in developed countries along with the high costs of medical treatment and surgery in these countries has opened a door for millions of people in foreign countries. In this article, we are going to give you a general overview of the sector in the wrold. In future articles we are going to approach in detail Health Tourism in Mexico (cities, circuits, hospitals, treatments, surgery, insurance coverage, agencies offering this kind of packages).
Thousands of people are taking advantage of their vacations to travel abroad and perform some kind of medical treatment or plastic or minor surgery. The lower costs of these treatments and procedures in foreign countries have permitted many individuals of the general population that didn’t had access to this kind of medicine and technology the opportunity to access it. We can find agencies with “Health Tourism Plans” in quality hotels and specialized and prestigious hospitals or clinics.
Information during 2009 reveled that 750,000 Americans went outside the US looking for medical treatment or surgery. The number is expected to grow up to 6,000,000 in the year 2011.
Health tourism has become a very attractive option for economic development in many countries. Although there is no real data available, health tourism has boosted in the last 10 years and it is expected to boost even more in the next 10 years due to the lower costs of airfare, hotels and hospitals.
Many European countries have modified their health politics due to the economic problems they are facing, excluding dental treatment, plastic surgery and ocular laser surgery from the basic insurance or public health program coverage.
This is why the Europeans have begun to cross the Atlantic in search of the countries where medical services are provided with the same quality and technology but at lower prices. Central European countries have benefited from this new tendencies in medicine.
The countries preferred by foreigners inside the Health Tourism sector are: Colombia, México, Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina. Thousands of Americans travel each year to México, Panama, Costa Rica and Chile to take advantage of the five star quality medical services and technology available in these countries and the lower costs, which can be 50% less than in the US. There are other countries like Poland, New Zeland, Bolivia and Guatemala that are making big efforts to enter and compete in the sector.
Thousands of people are taking advantage of their vacations to travel abroad and perform some kind of medical treatment or plastic or minor surgery. The lower costs of these treatments and procedures in foreign countries have permitted many individuals of the general population that didn’t had access to this kind of medicine and technology the opportunity to access it. We can find agencies with “Health Tourism Plans” in quality hotels and specialized and prestigious hospitals or clinics.
