Medical Tourism Market - Growth, Trends, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)

Medical Tourism Market Analysis

The medical tourism market is expected to register a CAGR of 11.23% over the forecast period.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the medical tourism markets, including popular medical tourism destinations such as India, China, and other emerging countries, due to restrictions in movement, supply chain disruption, travel bans, etc. Travel restrictions in the first two years of the pandemic had an adverse impact on medical tourism in India. For instance, as per Fortis Healthcare's annual report, in 2021, restrictions on global travel substantially impacted the medical tourism segment as the flow of visiting patients from various neighboring countries halted. Furthermore, according to an article published by Business Standards in November 2022, medical tourism is expected to increase in India after being nearly reduced to naught during the two years hit by the COVID-19 pandemic as international flights opened in March-April 2022 and international travel comes to pre-COVID levels. To overcome the situation, various governments are taking the initiative to bring medical tourism back into the country. For instance, to entice tourists to the country, Mexico introduced the #Come2MexicanCaribbean campaign in mid-June 2022, which offers gifts and passes to travelers, such as free hotel stays, discounted vehicle rentals, and discounts at tourist attractions. Thus, with the upliftment of restrictions and initiatives from the governments toward medical tourism, the market is expected to recover from the effects of COVID-19 in the next few years.

Factors such as lower treatment costs in developing countries, availability of the latest medical technologies, growing compliance with international quality standards and service, and advertising and marketing of medical tourism are expected to drive market growth over the forecast period. For instance, in September 2022, the MoHFW of the Indian Government commenced new initiatives to boost medical tourism in the country. Such as the special provision of medical visas for tourists traveling to India for healthcare purposes from 165 countries, setting up a feedback mechanism to obtain testimonials from medical tourists, and the 'Heal in India' initiative to position India as a global hub for medical tourism. Also, according to an article published by the government of Boao Lecheng, China, in December 2021, efforts were taken by the Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone to promote the research progress on stem cell, immune cell, and gene therapy, plus other new techniques in the biomedical sector. The medical pilot zone encouraged people from 15 countries, such as Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and Vietnam, to join the RCEP to come for treatment. Such an initiative in medical tourism is expected to drive growth.

In addition, high healthcare costs in developed countries are expected to be a major driving factor for the growth of the market in developing countries. For instance, according to World Population Review 2022, in most developed countries, healthcare is financed through taxes, private insurance, or subsidized by private organizations. The United States uniquely uses all of these payment methods in its healthcare system. Other developing countries participate in a single-payer system, in which essential healthcare costs are paid for by taxes collected through government programs. Furthermore, as per the November 2022 report of AMA, pharmaceutical spending per capita was USD 1,443 in the United States, whereas it ranges from USD 466 to USD 939 in other countries. Thus, people visit developing countries for medical treatment because of the low cost compared to developed countries, eventually driving the growth of the market. Therefore, owing to the above-mentioned factors, the medical tourism market is expected to grow over the forecast period. However, issues with patient follow-up and post-procedure complications, and medical record transfer issues are expected to hinder market growth over the forecast period.

Medical Tourism Industry Segmentation

As per the scope of the report, medical tourism refers to individuals traveling abroad to receive medical treatment. The market is segmented by treatment type (cosmetic treatment, dental treatment, cardiovascular treatment, orthopedics treatment, bariatric treatment, fertility treatment, ophthalmic treatment, and other treatments) and geography (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and South America). The report also covers the estimated market sizes and trends for 17 different countries across major regions globally. The market sizes and forecasts are provided in terms of value (USD million) for all the above segments.

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Medical Tourism Market Trends

This section covers the major market trends shaping the Medical Tourism Market according to our research experts:

Cosmetic Treatment Segment Expected to Have Healthy Growth Rate Over the Forecast Period

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