The Medical Tourism Climate Survey 2013, carried out for the International Medical Travel Journal highlights widespread optimism about the future of medical tourism despite the economic downturn, with travel for cosmetic surgery expected to be the biggest growth area. The results suggest that not only is the market currently growing but that it will continue to do so for the next five years or more.
However, it does highlight the fragmented state of the market in terms of the small size and nature of those providing services and areas of concern such as the lack of marketing expertise and investment, and lack of government support for medical tourism.
This year’s climate survey incorporates the views of over 400 individuals within the industry. The nature of the respondents does of course influence the findings of this report. There is sample bias towards English speaking participants (N.B: the survey was not multi-language) and to the US, European and Indian markets. However, this does not negate the value of the survey in an industry which is bereft of meaningful information; it does provide worthwhile insight into the “temperature” of this nascent industry.
Industry growth
The survey participants expect medical tourism to grow over the next five years. A quarter of respondents expect the market to grow by between 5-10% pa, 22.1% expect it to grow by between 10-15% pa, and 16.1% expect it to grow by more than 20% pa. That’s encouraging for any industry but also a more realistic picture than is painted by the proponents of exponential growth and a booming industry.
Leading destinations
No one really knows which are the leading destinations for medical tourists, either in terms of numbers or quality. So it’s interesting to find out what people within the industry think. According to the respondents, the three main destinations for medical tourists, based on patient numbers, are India, Thailand and the USA. And in terms of quality and range of services, they rank the USA, Thailand and Singapore in the top three.
A fragmented industry
What the report does bring home is the fragmented nature of the industry. 65% of the hospitals and clinics who provided data on international patient numbers treated less than 100 international patients in the last year. In contrast, 15% of hospitals and clinics treated more than 1,000 international patients in the last year. A similar picture is reflected within the respondents who run medical tourism agencies and facilitators; 56% treated less than 100 international patients in the last year. 11% of medical tourism agencies and facilitators treated more than 1,000 international patients in the last year.
Constraints on growth
Those running hospitals, clinics or agency or facilitator services were asked about the internal and external constraints preventing their international patient numbers from growing. The significant internal factors considered to restrict growth are the size of the marketing budget and availability of marketing expertise, perhaps reflecting the small scale of most operators in this sector. Lack of government support for medical tourism, and increased competition in the market place are believed to be the main external factors restricting growth.
Read the full report
The 100 page report and analysis can be purchased from Intuition Communication, the publishers of IMTJ for €350, as a PDF download.
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