We asked QUO Director of Healthcare + Wellness, Ruben Toral, where are the trends around the intersection between travel and healthcare and what do they mean for destinations wanting to position themselves as medical tourism hotspots.
QUO: Given the sustained growth in healthcare, wellness, travel and tourism, what do you see trending in this space?
RT: What I see more than anything is the convergence of players in the healthcare, wellness, hospitality and travel space. More hospitality players are looking at health and wellness and more healthcare players are looking at offering more of their services outside the hospital. In the centre of the Venn diagram is medical tourism, wellness tourism, healthy hospitality and retirement/active living.
QUO: In your view, which destinations are winning in medical tourism and what are they doing to achieve this success?
RT: The most successful medical tourism destinations are typically countries or cities (think: Houston, Bangkok, Delhi, Singapore and Seoul) that offer access to unique medical expertise. Houston, for example, is known as a ‘medical city’ because it is home to some of the world’s top medical brands including Texas Medical Center, MD Anderson and The Texas Heart Institute. It is also one of the largest passenger hubs for United Airlines. These medical hubs typically develop organically over time based on the strength and reputation of a particular institution (like Bumrungrad International in Bangkok) or expertise (cosmetic surgery in Seoul) and are within easy reach of feeder markets looking for better, faster, cheaper care.
The top destinations in Asia are Thailand, India and Singapore. In Europe, Germany, Turkey and Hungary are popular destinations. In the Americas, the US, Mexico and Costa Rica dominate.
QUO: Are there any specific growth areas or trends in terms of treatments? What is driving this?
RT: It very much depends on place and institution. Take Korea, for example. Twenty-five years ago, few would have considered travelling to Korea for cosmetic surgery. Today, it stands as the cosmetic surgery capital of the world. What changed in those 25 years? The rise of K-Pop.
In Asia, Korean artists dominate the entertainment landscape, and many aspire to emulate the looks of bands like Black Pink and BTS. Korea has become synonymous with cosmetic surgery, with media playing a significant role in driving this trend.
QUO: That’s interesting. In a holistic sense, especially with recovery and rehabilitation, surely the environment – whether it be climate, natural environments, wide spaces for rest – must play a key role? In other words, a destination with many beautiful and nurturing locations to complement treatments must have an advantage. How can hospitality do more to support the destination?
“While often portrayed as ‘sun, sand and surgery’ the reality of medical tourism is very different. People select healthcare destinations based on reputation and trust, and the best medical centres and doctors are usually found in major metropolitan cities.”
RT: That is the biggest misconception of medical tourism. While often portrayed as ‘sun, sand and surgery’ the reality of medical tourism is very different, and anyone who has travelled to Delhi in the heat of summer or Rochester, Minnesota (home of the Mayo Clinic) in the dead of winter will tell you the same. Medical travel requires extensive planning, paperwork and logistics coordination. When you add travel, accommodation, food and transport expenses on top of the already considerable medical expenses, it can be a considerable amount of money because patients and their families often stay for weeks and sometimes months at a time. This is what makes medical tourism such a high-value segment in the tourism industry.
The reality is that people select healthcare destinations based on reputation and trust, and the best medical centres and doctors are usually found in major metropolitan cities, not on the beach. Typically, people want to get treated and get back home as soon as they safely can.
QUO: What are the potential obstacles to growth for the market as a whole? For instance, is the regulatory and legal environment becoming easier or more difficult to navigate? How about international medical insurance – is this getting easier?
RT: The single biggest obstacle is cost. As mentioned, medical travel is not cheap when you factor in all the costs. For example, an American who decides to travel to Mexico for hip surgery may save 50%, BUT the out-of-pocket costs are still significant. Insurance is not an option for anyone travelling specifically for healthcare because most policies do not offer this as a benefit, even though the net cost could be cheaper.
QUO: Thanks, Ruben. Finally, from a brand perspective, how can a country approach promoting itself as an attractive, safe and future-facing medical tourism destination?
That is the million-dollar question. Trust in healthcare isn’t made but rather earned over time so there is no quick fix here. I have worked with many destinations on medical tourism and my advice focuses on the basics. One, building a brand means building a clear, compelling narrative that answers one simple question, ‘Why choose you?’ In a world full of options, why would a potential medical tourist choose your clinic, hospital or city over others? Two, keep it simple. Be very good at one thing and build a reputation around that. Three, remove friction. People travelling for medical care do not want surprises that will cost them time, money or stress. Four, your patients are your best advocates. Make their stories your story.
