In a just
released report issued by VISA and Oxford Economics, the Medical Tourism
industry was valued at a staggering USD 439 billion, with a projected growth
rate of up to 25% year-over-year for the next 10 years as an estimated three to
four percent of the world’s population will travel internationally for
healthcare and health-related treatment.
For years
the medical travel industry seemed undervalued, yet VISA’s report accounts for
growth factors – like some 340 new international airports over the next decade
– and the medical travel market could soar to an astronomical USD 3 trillion by
2025.
In its
just-released 2016 report, industry-leading journal, Medical Tourism Index™
(MTI), listed the top 41 destinations for those seeking value-added services
and high quality of healthcare across the globe. In it, the similar pattern of
global growth emerges: that the United States leads in terms of market share of
healthcare travel spending, but Asia’s Thailand, Singapore and South Korea
continue to thrive. Both VISA’s and MTI’s™ findings expect China to overtake
the US spot within the next 10 years due to the population’s demand for higher
quality of care.
The
findings don’t just span the global spectrum but also the age spectrum as well;
VISA expects 13 percent of all international travel by 2025 to be older
travelers. Meanwhile, a recent survey of 31,000 18-34 year olds from 134
countries by popular booking site TopDeck Travel found that some 88% of them
travel internationally between 1 to 3 times annually and that the number only continues
to grow.
“The
borders to quality healthcare access have begun to dissintegrate.” MTI™
Co-Authors, Renée-Marie Stephano, JD President of the Medical Tourism
Association and Marc Fetscherin, Associate Professor of International Business
and Marketing at Rollins College, said a joint statement. “Speculation about
the medical tourism industry as a ‘phenomenon’ is over. This report and the
rankings of the the Medical Tourism Index™ provide a unique opportunity for
investors seeking new ventures to make smart choices in destinations driving
patient travel.”
The
entire medical tourism and health tourism industry will descend upon
Washington, D.C., September 25-28, 2016 for the 9thWorld Medical Tourism &
Global Healthcare Congress. Over 3,000 attendees from 50+ countries brought USD
1 billion in new deals last year paving the way for leaders this year to catch
the next wave in partnerships and medical tourism investment.
In a
conclusion, VISA said, “We believe that medical tourism is primed for
accelerated growth as more of these travelers seek new treatments, as well as
lower cost or higher-quality care not available in their home country.”
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