Unveiling Portugal: Medical travel, health tourism, retirement

Portugal is brimming with potential for growth in the medical travel, retirement and health tourism sectors. So why is it undiscovered ?

Portugal is a well-kept secret, perhaps unintentionally. It is a beautiful, charming country with excellent infrastructure, delicious food and wine, and welcoming people. The desire to step out of the shadows and onto a bigger stage exists in many corners. Here’s what I discovered during a recent trip.

The country is brimming with potential for growth in the medical travel, retirement and health tourism sectors. It is well placed to offer affordable, high quality services in all three domains. For a smaller country like Portugal with a population of about 10 million people, collaboration and cooperation are needed to gain attention on the international stage. Many people express doubt about the ability of people to put aside regional differences and competition to support a wider benefit to the country overall. Yet conversations with sector leaders expressed a desire to leave behind that image of Portugal and to explore new ways to work together.

Medical Travel

Portugal’s healthcare system is strong and ranked 12th in the world by the World Health Organization. Visits to two of the largest private hospitals, Hospital CUF and Hospital da Luz, confirmed the availability of high quality care in state of the art facilities offering services to Portuguese nationals as well as a small but growing number of international patients.

The hospitals are expanding with new buildings planned in Lisbon as well as other parts of the country. The capacity is there with the focus on serving the domestic population. Potential exists to expand access to healthcare services for patients in the EU as well as the Portuguese diaspora. It is unclear if these or other private hospitals will concentrate on developing the international medical travel sector with more than the current casual approach.

Health Tourism

Thermal spas are experiencing a resurgence as places for curative as well as preventive treatments. Visits to several spas in the Viseu region confirmed that potential exists to expand those services to wider markets both geographically and to new types of clients.

Set in charming villages like Sao Pedro do Sul, these thermal spas are a retreat from busy city life to a healthy environment where visitors can relax and enjoy pampering and preventive services or come for a longer period of time to receive curative treatments for a variety of ailments. I only wish I had more time to spend there so that I could experience treatments first hand – all in the name of research of course.

By serving as the basis for economic development, thermal spas in and around Viseu could generate benefits for the wider community with a thoughtful, integrated plan in place. The political will and business interest exist. Our team is ready to help create a plan for growth.

Retirement

Algarve, PortugalThe Algarve is a well-known retirement destination and businesses are investing in development to meet growing demand. The area has attracted more than 100,000 resident expat retirees[ii] and with aging populations in Europe and beyond demand for housing and related services should continue to grow.

Of course retirees are interested in the healthcare services available should they be needed. Hospitals served by the Hospital Particular do Algarve and others are available with additional investment being made increasing the types of services available locally without having to travel to Lisbon for anything more than the most complex procedures.

All the pieces are in place – excellent medical care, preventive and curative amenities, as well as retirement services – to raise Portugal’s visibility on the global scene. Economic growth can happen faster and for a broader range of businesses and services work collaboratively with a comprehensive plan in place.

Can the historic rivalries between and among regions change? Or will Portugal continue to be under the radar screen? The answer remains to be seen but I hope to go back soon to experience some vinotherapy.