Dental treatments and preventive medicine are the services most demanded by tourists visiting Guatemala in search of medical attention.
Data from the Health and Welfare Commission of the Guatemalan Association of Exporters (Agexport), details that 40% of tourists demand dental services, 16% preventive medicine, 10% orthopedic, 7% cardiovascular and 6% plastic and cosmetic surgeries.
Visits by foreigners to undergo medical procedures in Costa Rica last year generated $437 million, 5% more than was registered in 2016.
According to figures from the Central Bank of Costa Rica, medical tourism revenues have shown sustained growth, as in 2015, 2016 and 2017 there were reports of increases in relation to each of the preceding years of 9%, 16% and 5% respectively.
The country generated $13 million in medical and dental tourism services provided to 24 thousand visitors in 2017.
In a statement, the Ministry of Tourism indicated that "... Dental services, outpatient surgeries, stem cell treatments, bariatric surgeries, among others, are the most requested services in the country because of their quality of services and prices compared to other destinations."
Between 25,000 and 30,000 patients arrive in the country every year in search of medical services such as surgeries of various types, and dental procedures, among other things.
Authorities estimate that approximately 8 out of 10 health tourists come to the country with a companion, which opens up possibilities for increasing demand for tourism. Among the services most in demand are general, aesthetic and plastic surgeries, weight loss treatments, dental implant procedures, oncological and orthopedic treatments.
The health tourism segment, still in its infancy in the country, could achieve a higher degree of development if a strategy is implemented jointly by tourism companies and medical centers.
Low prices of treatments and medical infrastructure are the main factors which favor growth of the medical tourism segment in Costa Rica, which could also be applied in Nicaragua, once a work plan starts to be implemented which involves coordination between hospitals, government and companies in the tourism sector.
Up to September 2016 tourist activities such as business, medical treatments and traditional tourism generated $3.624 billion, 16% more than the same period in 2015.
While traditional or vacation tourism is still the main source of revenue generated in the tourism sector, with 64% of total revenue up to September 2016, other activities such as medical tourism and business trips are gaining more and more strength.Revenues generated in the segment of medical or wellbeing tourism accounted for 13% of the total, while revenues generated by business tourism accounted for 15%.
The First Congress of Tourism Integration will be held on the March 22nd and 23rd in Panama City, with the objective of establishing a road map for the sector.
With this conference the Tourism Authority of Panama is aiming to bring together the different players in the industry in order to establish the roadmap for the sector.
"... Twelve workshops will be held, each relating to a market segment.The idea is that each workshop presents the current situation in its segment, holds a debate and draws conclusions which can be translated into action, " said Alfredo Motta, event organizer to Laestrella.com.pa.
Investors and companies in the medical tourism and wellbeing sector will be meet on November 25th in San Jose to explore business alternatives and publicize their services.
The event is being organized by the Council for the International Promotion of Medicine in Costa Rica (Promed) and will be held at the San José Palacio hotel from 2 pm. The activity will be attended by companies and investors in the health and tourism sectors, who will present success stories in wellness tourism.
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.
In Colombia $642 million will be invested in building more than 200 spas and wellness centers, the crux of a 20-year plan.
From an article by the Costa Rican Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER):
The Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism in Colombia launched on April 23 a business plan with the objective of making the country a favorite destination for wellness tourism.
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.