Medical Tourism and a New National Revenue for the Developing Countries

While medical tourism is presently small in comparison to the overall service trade or the consumption of medical services worldwide or even the trade in tourism services, it cannot be dismissed as either temporary or insignifi cant (for example, in destination countries such as Thailand, Malaysia, and India, health tourism is the fastest-growing segment of their tourist markets). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is a growing trend with enormous economic implications. As early as 1989, an Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report noted that trade in health services provided developing countries with a competitive opportunity in this arena, given their abundance of labor and availability of capital and skills in medicine. As long as they can maintain quality levels, they might be able to generate signifi - cant growth. In 1997, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which monitors trade between countries, noted for the fi rst time that trade in services, including health services, could be benefi cial for developing countries. A growing number of these countries have the requisite manpower, the investment capital, the know-how, and the motivation to supply medical tourist facilities. They are hopping on the highly competitive medical tourism bandwagon. India and Malaysia are joining the already-established destinations in Thailand and Singapore. The Philippines is not far behind. In the Western hemisphere, Cuba has been a medical leader for decades and sets an example for Costa Rica and Argentina with respect to the research and development that is linked to medical tourism. The countries of the former Soviet bloc, as well as the Baltic states of the former Soviet Union, are using their highly skilled labor force to lure West Europeans to their health-care facilities. South Africa and Jordan have also broken into this lucrative market, and more countries join the list every year.

How big is the medical tourism phenomenon in developing countries? Two numbers are relevant: the number of foreign patients there are and the amount of revenue they generate. In 2004, some 130,000 foreign patients received medical treatment in Malaysia, and a survey of Malaysian hospitals found that there has been a 25 percent rise in foreign patients. Thailand receives 400,000 foreign medical tourists every year,9 of which 50,000 are Americans going to a single hospital, the Bumrungrad. Cuba in 1995–96 treated some 25,000 foreigners. In 2004, 150,000 foreign patients traveled to India for treatment, while the year before, some 50,000 British medical tourists traveled to Thailand, South Africa, India, and Cuba. The number of foreign patients in India is growing by 30 percent every year. Jordan expects to receive 100,000 visitors annually. Argentina hopes to increase its infl ow of medical tourism annually by 50 percent. While some 250,000 health tourists come for medical treatment to the United States every year, Costa Rica, tiny by comparison, is able to attract as many as 150,000.

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