Medical tourism attracts patients from China, Russia and Middle East

Switzerland is becoming more popular as a destination for wellness and medical tourism. More private hospitals, spas, wellness centres and clinics are targeting the sector. Differentiating the country from the common misconception of medical tourism being about saving money, Switzerland has an emphasis on quality in an environment that lends itself to general wellbeing. Key destinations include Geneva, Lausanne and Lucerne.

Switzerland is becoming more popular as a destination for wellness and medical tourism. More private hospitals, spas, wellness centres and clinics are targeting the sector. Differentiating the country from the common misconception of medical tourism being about saving money, Switzerland has an emphasis on quality in an environment that lends itself to general wellbeing. Key destinations include Geneva, Lausanne and Lucerne.

For over a century, Switzerland has been known to Europeans as a destination for top quality healthcare and health relaxation. The reason why numbers have been and are expected to continue to grow is that the country has been targeting travellers from several Middle East countries, and has now turned to attracting Chinese and Russian health and medical tourists. Switzerland and Germany are the market leaders in targeting the higher paying, and often longer staying, quality end of the medical and health tourism sector; both countries being far more organized than competitors Singapore, UK and USA.

Swiss Health has been a very active organiation promoting medical and wellness tourism. Gregor Frei of Swiss Health comments, “5 to 10% of the business now comes from the Middle East. In the last three years we have seen an annual increase from the Gulf of between 20% and 50%. The Middle East is now very important for Switzerland.”

Last year, Swiss Health launched a spin-off organization, Lucerne Health, to promote wellness and medical offerings in Lucerne. The number of visitors booked via Lucerne Health increased by 45 % between 2011 and 2012. Wanqiu Frey of Lucerne Health comments, “We are looking for distributors in different countries in the Middle East and we also plan to share market events with our partners such as Lucerne Tourism, Swiss Health and the Swiss Tourism Board. We are expecting to have one agency in each key country in order to drive more awareness.” The organization produces marketing information in Chinese, Russian, Arabic, English and German.

Geneva’s leading teaching hospital, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève (HUG) attracts VIP patients from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Qatar. Alain Fong of HUG comments, “ We attract overseas customers, not for economic reasons, but for the quality. With 65 different medical services available, coupled with arrangement of transfers (including the option of private planes), Arabic speaking staff and translators, and connecting rooms, our private clinic is 60 % full all year round.” Clinique Générale-Beaulieu in Geneva is a private hospital where Middle Eastern patients are between 5 and 10% of the patient total.

Hirslanden has 14 medical clinics across Switzerland and offers personal service to international patients, with private rooms and private nursing, translators, interpreters and a limousine service. The clinics do not need to advertise as most business comes from word-of-mouth referrals. Clinic Lémanic in Lausanne is a cosmetic surgery clinic with a website in Chinese and Russian, and becoming more popular with Middle Eastern patients too,

For 2013, Lausanne Tourism Board’s strategy for the Middle East region is to focus on PR, having appointed an Abu Dhabi based agency. Tamja Dubas of Lausanne Tourism Board says, “Media visits to Lausanne and the region help us in promoting the wellness and medical market in our city.”

Swiss Health has a target of increasing medical and wellness numbers by 50% by the end of 2014, and there is every sign that this target is achievable.