Medical Tourism: Health Can Be Purchased Overseas!

When the upgrading of the Tourism industry meets the globalization of Medical services, a new category - Medical Tourism - emerges. In recent years, with the greater convenience of air transportation, the number of medical destinations available for people to choose from has been increasing day by day: going to South Korea for plastic surgery, going to Switzerland for anti-aging treatment, going to Japan for health check-ups, and going to the United States for tumor surgery. Medical Tourism has seemingly become one of the emerging and important markets worldwide.

So, what is Medical Tourism? Is "Medical Tourism" simply the sum of the two words "medical care" and "tourism"? What points should be noted behind its development? What is the potential for the future?

Medical Tourism is developing rapidly

The medical facilities here are very good and complete. These days, we have not only witnessed advanced medical equipment and technology, but also experienced high-level medical services. The scenery is also very beautiful. I will come again and recommend more people to come along. Just after participating in the large-scale Medical Tourism event of Sochi health check-up and wellness tour launched by Beijing Times Global International Travel Service in Russia, Grandpa Zhang said excitedly.

Going abroad for medical treatment, physical examination and travel at the same time was once out of reach for ordinary Chinese people. However, in recent years, it has become increasingly close to the lives of ordinary Chinese people.

Russia is just a microcosm of many Medical Tourism destinations. Currently, the United States, Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and others have all become popular Medical Tourism destinations for Chinese people.

So, what is Medical Tourism?

After consulting literature, the World Tourism Organization defines it as "tourism services themed on medical care, disease and health, rehabilitation and convalescence", covering a wide range from cosmetic surgery to critical surgeries. People can experience foreign customs and cultures while seeking medical treatment.

Data shows that the international Medical Tourism industry began to sprout in the 1980s. At that time, Latin American countries attracted European and American patients to move south with relatively inexpensive dental and plastic surgery services. After 30 years of development, the Medical Tourism market has expanded rapidly worldwide.

According to statistics, in 2000, the global market size of Medical Tourism was less than 10 billion US dollars. However, in recent years, with people's increasing emphasis on health and the rapid development of Medical technology, by 2013, the global market size of Medical Tourism had reached 100 billion US dollars Transparency Market Research, a US market research and consulting firm, predicts that it will reach 175 billion US dollars by 2017, showing a "blowout" phenomenon.

After the integration of the tourism and healthcare industries, tourism operators have found that the "value" of tourists has increased sharply. According to statistics from some foreign institutions, the average personal expenditure on Medical Tourism is more than twice that of general tourism, and even up to six times as much. From the perspective of light Medical Tourism such as physical examinations, screenings, and rehabilitation care, the Policy Investment Bank of Japan has made a prediction: in 2020, the number of Chinese people traveling to Japan for physical examinations and screenings will reach 310,000, and the potential market size of Medical Tourism will reach over 500 billion yen, equivalent to over 30 billion yuan. It can be seen from this that the development prospects of the Medical Tourism industry are promising, and its growth rate is more than twice that of ordinary tourism.

Along with the increasingly hot Medical Tourism market, a wide variety of Medical Tourism institutions have emerged in China. They act as intermediaries to "tailor-make" Medical Tourism routes for patients or tourists. Xiekang Changrong Hospital Management Co., Ltd. was born against this backdrop as a rising star dedicated to the field of medical services. Ma Jianpeng, the general manager of the company, told the reporter, "The starting point of our entrepreneurship was actually because our own demands were not met." For this reason, they have been cooperating with Tokusu-kai Medical Group, the world's third-largest and Japan's largest medical group, for many years. They have introduced Japan's most authoritative quality control system for early cancer screening, as well as senior experts and technical services in early cancer screening, to China. We provide a wide range of services for domestic individuals, including private health advisors, precision quality screening, post-examination classification management, special medical services, and travel butlers.