Why is Mexico the second destination worldwide?
Mexico receives millions of people seeking medical services. What is this trend about and why has it grown so much?
Here we tell you.
Mexico is one of the main countries in the medical tourism segment. In fact, in different parts of the country, specialized products have been developed for tourists traveling for medical and aesthetic purposes.
What is medical tourism?
Medical tourism refers to international flows of travelers who regularly travel outside their country in order to receive medical services.
This involves one or several processes, ranging from consultations, intervention, hospitalization (or clinical care) to the provision of medications.
Thus, all the people who undertake an international trip in order to receive some medical treatment are part of those who carry out medical tourism, whether for aesthetic treatment, an emergency or even to receive therapy.
Mexico is the second health tourism destination worldwide
Mexico is the second destination for health tourism worldwide, patients arrive from the United States, Japan, Germany, France and China to request services such as heart surgery, plastic surgery, ophthalmology, oncology, dentistry, gastrosurgery, reproductive biology, traumatology and gynecology.
Why is Mexico an attractive destination for this sector? Among other benefits offered by the Mexican medical service is that they allow savings between 35% and 85% in some treatments and surgical procedures, as well as the reduction of waiting time, which in countries such as Canada can be up to three months, according to ProMexico data.
In the last decade, Mexico has become the second destination for health tourism, receiving 1.2 million visitors a year, only behind Thailand, which receives 1.8 million visitors a year.
Mexico has 98 hospitals accredited by the federal Ministry of Health and seven by the Joint Commission International. The value of the industry in Mexico has been growing year after year since in 2016 it was 4,792 million dollars and in 2017 it was 5,064 million dollars and in 2018, a spill of 5.3 billion dollars is expected, a figure 85% higher than that of a decade ago.
The states where they mainly receive this tourism sector are Baja California, Baja California Sur, Mexico City, Chihuahua, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Puebla, Quintana Roo, San Luis Potosí, Sonora, Tamaulipas and Yucatán.
Health tourism is a window to attract visitors, a prospective view of the tourism industry in Mexico, where international tourist flows for medical reasons must be considered, including diagnosis, medical care, surgical interventions and/or medications.
In 2017, the Ministry of Health estimated that more than 1.7 of the almost 40 million international tourists could have health-related reasons for traveling to Mexico.
United States and its vicinity
According to Sectur data, it estimates that visitors from the United States represent 70% of income in the country in the health sector, and it is expected to increase in the coming years when the generation of “baby boomers” -born between 1946 and 1964- turn 70 years old. This generation will require some type of medical attention such as cosmetic surgeries, bariatric and ophthalmological treatments that help improve physical appearance.
Another important reason for tourism from the United States is that that country has the most expensive health system in the world, which in 2016 represented 17.2% of GDP, against 9% as an OECD average. According to OECD estimates, in the United States 19 million people do not have health insurance and it is expected that by 2026 it will be up to 24 million people who would no longer have these services.
Click any of the text links below, to see a list of doctors and medical professionals in that country:
