Medical tourism

GO NICHE:How far would you be prepared to go for healthcare? I mean, actually go. Quite a distance, it would seem. The global medical tourism sector is bucking other travel trends with growth rates of between 20 and 30 per cent a year. By the end of next year it will be worth €74 billion.

The world’s top medical tourism destinations include Panama, Brazil – which specialises in cosmetic surgery – Malaysia, Costa Rica and India. Abu Dhabi has just signed a contract with Korea to have large numbers of its hospital patients treated there.

Korea is a minnow in the international medical tourism market, with just under 82,000 foreign patients a year, compared to big fish such as Thailand, which welcomes more than 1.5 million. India and Singapore are estimated to have around three quarters of a million medical tourists a year each. Hungary, with more dentists per capita than any other country, has already established a market among Irish medical tourists.

It’s happening in this country too. The new Kingsbridge Private Hospital in Belfast has trumpeted its plans to treat prostate cancer patients from the US, Asia and the Middle East, starting this month. Patients are expected to travel with friends and family, who will stay in local hotels, for up to five nights, resulting in a minimum of 1,500 bed nights in the first year alone. For the hospitality trade, it could be just what the doctor ordered.