The implementation of all these sectors means that this activity positively impacts the country’s economy, promoting the attraction of investment and the generation of employment.
Medical or health tourism is a term that we hear more and more and consists of the flow of national and international travelers looking for different types of medical services abroad.
This movement of people and industries has made this opportunity an important and interdisciplinary economic activity that involves diverse interests, sectors, services, stakeholders, and, above all, skills. According to International Healthcare Medical, it is estimated that by 2030, mid-level medical tourism will increase by 25%.
The implementation of all these sectors means that this activity positively impacts the country’s economy, promoting the attraction of investment and the generation of employment not only in the medical sector but also in industries such as hotels, tourism, and restaurants. Only in 2021, the Mexican Secretary of Tourism indicated that the dimension of this sector ranges between 8 and 8.8 billion dollars, of which 2,700 and 3,500 million belong to the tourism sector.
Now, according to data from Patients Beyond Borders, in 2019, between 1.4 and 3 million foreigners traveled to Mexico for medical purposes, which positions the country as the second in the world in health tourism, only below Thailand, which occupies the first place. This boom is large because surgical treatments in Mexico in areas such as oncology, cardiology, ophthalmology, plastic surgery, and dentistry, among others, generate total savings for people of approximately 35% and 85% according to the procedure and timing of the treatment(s).
The United States is the country from which 80% of all visitors for medical purposes come, and according to the Medical Tourism Association and Sector, it is estimated that visitors from this country represent 70% of the national income in the health sector. , which is forecast to increase in the coming years.
The states that receive the most tourism of this type are Baja California, Baja California Sur, Mexico City, Chihuahua, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Puebla, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Tamaulipas, and Yucatán.
For example, only in Baja California during the first half of 2021, hotel occupancy increased by 49.8%, while the arrival of visitors by air increased by 71% during the same period in 2019; medical tourism being the main factor, according to data from the state Health Tourism Directorate.
Medical or health tourism is in a process of growth and strengthening in Mexico, and without a doubt, it is a niche for which you have to bet and follow closely.
TYT Newsroom
