Health and Healthcare

Medical Tourism Expected to Triple by 2019

Chris Lange

Published: October 30, 2015 11:40 am

Last Updated: January 13, 2020 5:43 pm

Medical tourism has become increasingly popular in recent years as we see the globalization of modern medicine take off, as well as the continued improvement in health care systems within developing nations. Considering the popularity and recent growth within this industry, one market research firm released a report that calls for this market to triple.

Transparency Market Research recently published a market study on the global medical tourism market, estimating the total value of the global medical tourism market by 2019 to be $32.5 billion. The market was valued at only $10.5 billion in 2012 and is likely to expand at an impressive compound annual growth rate of 17.9% during the period from 2013 to 2019.

In the report, Transparency Market Research defines medical tourism as the travel of patients from their home country to different destinations for the purpose of treatment that may also incorporate an extended holiday.

This move toward medical tourism has been brought about by rising health care costs within developed nations in conjunction with the improvement in quality and lower prices that are seen in some developing nations.

A research report, titled “Medical Tourism Market — Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 – 2019,” noted that the lower costs (compared to other developed countries) associated with medical procedures in developing nations such as Thailand, India, Mexico, Singapore, Brazil, Turkey, Costa Rica, Taiwan, Poland, South Korea and the Philippines, has ultimately encouraged people to seek treatment in these nations, boosting the global medical tourism market extensively. Apart from this, the wide array of options for treatment in these countries is also fueling the global market for medical tourism to a great extent.

Additionally, by encouraging its presence in the medical tourism market, a country can boost its economic growth and create employment opportunities. As a result, the medical tourism industry is rapidly expanding and is anticipated to have a significant growth in the near future.

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