In 2018, revenues generated by health tourism companies in the Dominican Republic totaled $265 million, 15% more than in 2017, partly because of the competitive prices offered by the country.
Figures from the "Study and Diagnosis of Health Tourism in the Dominican Republic", detail that between 2017 and 2018 the income from this type of tourism increased by nearly $35 million, going from $230 million to $265 million.
A study by PROCOMER has identified potential business models in the US market through different access channels, ranging from "one to one" to the creation of partnerships with the public sector.
From thereportentitled "Exporting health services to US"by PROCOMER in Costa Rica:
In five years the revenue generated from wellbeing tourism activities has gone up almost three times, going from $7.3 million in 2010 to $26.6 million in 2015.
Lower costs in markets such as the US and Canada is the main reason behind the increase in foreign exchange flows generated from medical tourism activities.
Visitors from the US, Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Singapore and Italy are among a growing number of foreigners who came into the country for medical treatment during 2015.
Figures from the Tourism Commission of Health and Welfare at the Guatemalan Association of Exporters (AGEXPORT) indicate that the number of people who visited Guatemala in 2015 for various medical and dental treatments grew by 18% compared to the previous year.
There are now eight clinics dedicated to small outpatient surgery with international accreditation, strengthening the country's position as a medical tourism destination.
Zaldivar Clinic and Day Surgery Center are the two new hospitals accredited by the American Association for Accreditation of Ambulatory Surgery Facilities International (AAAASFI).
A plan is underway to boost medical hydrology in the north of the country, taking advantage of the tourist infrastructure and natural conditions in the area.
Entrepreneurs from San Carlos, in the northern part of the country, plan to form partnerships "with the medical community and businesses in order to build medical centers and train professionals in the health industry, said Lorena Herrera, businesswoman and team president", reported Elfinancierocr.com.
Mexico, Spain and Poland are looking to position themselves as medical tourism destinations competing with the traditional ones such as India, Thailand, Brazil and Turkey.
From an article by the Costa Rican Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
Besides traditional competitors such as India, Thailand, Brazil and Turkey, new international players such as Mexico, Spain and Poland are now seeking to position themselves as medical tourism destinations. On the one hand is Poland, which through a government program is trying to promote itself as a good country in which to find health treatment, rehabilitation, diagnosis and aesthetics services and, through its participation in three consecutive fairs (Miami 2012, Moscow and Monaco in March 2013), has managed to be taken into account by the experts as a new player in this market.
After a first attempt to consolidate a core of companies engaged in providing medical services to foreigners, efforts are now being made to create an association for promoting medical tourism.
The country is looking to position itself within the medical tourism industry globally, growing at an accelerated rate of 30% annually.
In order to give a boost to medical tourism, a group of Salvadorans are promoting the creation of an association to promote health and to focus on niches that the country can exploit. "The partnership will look out for the interests of the sector, monitoring and ensuring that the people working in it do it well," said Mario Cruz, medical director of Equitec.
A report has been carried out comparing 40 companies in the fields of health and welfare in Guatemala with 50 others from the sector in Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador.
From a press release issued by the Guatemalan Association of Exporters (AGEXPORT):
40 companies in the health and welfare sector in Guatemala City, Antigua Guatemala, Amatitlan and Quetzaltenango were part of the study on supply, demand and packaging carried out to find out about the technical and professional capacity available in each company which is used to provide diagnostic services and medical treatment to the patients coming from abroad. These companies were compared to 50 companies in 2 cities in Mexico, 2 in Honduras and El Salvador.