South africa is africa s market leader in providing medical tourism services. Indias medical tourism gets africans attention africa renewal. According to the international healthcare research center ihrc, medical tourism is likely to grow 14% annually. In african countries, medical tourism offers services that are. A tool for development 5 developing tourism in africa across the globe, tourism has evolved as one of the most expansive, diverse and sectors of our times. The market place of medical tourism facilitators in south. Through our comprehensive medical tourism services, we strive to make every aspect of your trip to south africa as comfortable, safe and rewarding as possible. Growth in medical tourism has been facilitated by the rise of the internet, and the emergence of healthcare intermediaries or medical tourism facilitators between international patients and hospital networks connell, 2006. This makes medical tourists indistinguishable from other temporary entrants in immigration statistics.
Medical and wellness tourism lessons from asia 23apr2014. Medical tourism facilitator services medtours africa. The tourism aspect of obtaining medical treatment abroad refers to the fact that patients having received medical services away from their homeland are likely to. Medical tourists elect to travel across international borders to receive some form of medical treatment treatments may span the full range of medical services most common. A poor health infrastructure in terms of hospitals and the shortage of doctors in different specialties, which is a common site in african countries, has. Africa s medical tourism industry i n the past decade, african countries have experienced an increase in the number of tourists visiting for medical treatment. For example, deloitte 2008 defines medical tourism as the act of travelling to another country to seek specialized or economical medical care, wellbeing and. Medical tourism magazine powered by global healthcare. Medical tourism companies provide information which is relevant and easy to understand. India was a later entrant into the medical tourism but has catched up well. Medical tourism an african phenomenon medtours africa.
Introduction globalisation has given rise to a new form of tourism arriving in south africa that is commonly known as medical tourism. Now representing one of the largest and fastest growing economic sectors in the world, tourism contributing 9% of global gdp. The country is ranked by the southern african development community sadc as the leader in the african. Indias medical education system generates an estimated 20,00030,000 doctors and nurses yearly, and the indian government estimates that medical tourism is growing by 30 per cent a year. While some castigate mt as promoting healthcare inequity, others endorse it as a revenue generator, promising. Journal of african interdisciplinary studies jais issn 2523. Most hospitals now have dedicated teams who work with international organizations and medical tourism companies to attract more and more. According to gupta 2004 medical tourism in general can be. Main drivers of medical tourism 6 mckinsey quarterly, 2008 40% 32% 15% 9% 4% relative size of medical traveler segments 100% 49,980 patients most advanced technology betterquality care for medically necessary procedures quicker access for medically necessary procedures lowercost care for medically neccessaty procedures.
Europeans have been traveling to south africa for health tourism procedures for some time now. Harnessing tourism for growth and improved livelihoods 3 africa rising this more than any other time is the moment for pursuing tourism as a dynamic development option in ssa. The moderating effect of medical travel facilitators in. It concluded by proffering certain recommendations. India is becoming the 2nd medical tourism destination after thailand. By the end of 2009, according to deputy tourism minister tokozile xasa, a national strategy for medical tourism will be complete. Pdf geolocation and range of medical tourism services in africa.
The market place of medical tourism facilitators in south africa. Medical tourism is transitioning towards medical value travel mvt. In the past decade, african countries have experienced an increase in the number of tourists visiting for medical treatment. Effects of medical tourism on average life expectancy controlling.
Xaba was speaking at the inaugural south african health tourism congress, held in johannesburg in july 2009 with the aim of further entrenching the medical tourism industry in south africa. This is due to varying bioethical considerations for some medical procedures and technologies, high healthcare costs, and unequal accessibility to quality healthcare. The major pull factors in medical tourism are cheap and quality healthcare in destination countries, and the unavailability or lack of some important medical procedures in the home country. Pdf southsouth medical tourism and the quest for health. Hospitals and clinics in south africa are vying to attract more international medical tourism patients from around the world. The quality of their tourism assets high standards in visitor accommodation ef. Apr 18, 2017 while medical tourism will continue as people shop around for prices and countries vie to improve their offerings, solving the health system challenges in africa will likely reduce the amount spent on medical tourism. Ethical issues associated with medical tourism in africa. Medical tourism in cuba diego maradona, the football star, made news when he traveled to cuba for getting treatment for drug addiction in the year 2000. Cuba is internationally renowned for its excellent quality and affordability of the medical and health. All in all, south africa is a unique and attractive destination for medical tourism, boasting worldclass plastic surgeons and facilities to attend to all your medical needs. The 2016 mti considers 41 destinations from the middle east, asia, americas, africa, and europe. This article will contribute to the literature by investigating the medical tourists in south africa. Africa is a source and destination for patients who form part of medical tourism.
This is due to varying bioethical considerations for some medical procedures and technologies, high healthcare costs, and. Open access protocol role, structure and effects of. The development of niche tourism sectors holds a number of. Tour2india4health is a medical tourism company in india that is known to provide you with standardized medical care. According to the economic development in africa 2017 report, the private medical sector in africa is diverse, and there is a lack of regulatory. Communicable diseases in africa account for almost twothirds of the total disease burden and the rest is because of noncommunicable diseases and physical injuries. Many researchers disagree with using the term medical tourism for a.
Medical tourism is becoming popular among world countries mainly for the following reasons. Medical tourism is the travel of people in search of medical care that is either, unavailable, unaffordable or proscribed at home healthcare systems. Disparity in laws across the globe, emerging breakthrough medical technologies, global economic inequities and globalization synergistically promote medical tourism mt 1. Harnessing tourism for growth and improved livelihoods 5 ssa tourism sectors must maintain competitiveness through.
Mt provides a platform for some patients to travel abroad for medical care that is either. The medical tourism association is a global nonprofit association for the medical tourism and international patient industry. Medical tourism is not a new concept, even though there is still no. The main source of official data on medical tourism is collected by statistics south africa ssa and south africa tourism sat who conduct a regular tourism departure survey tds sat, 2012asat, 2012b. The rapid growth of the medical tourism industry has created a great demand for professionals who are trained in medical tourism and have a thorough understanding of medical tourism as a business.
India and south africa have also entered the global medical tourism. Medical tourism in finland, particularly, does not have enough sufficient data to be able to attract customers from other countries. Saarc countries and select regions of africa are major sources of mvt patients. Medical tourism to south africa south africa is among the most geographically varied nations in africa, comprising of land that ranges from the kalahari desert to the drakensberg mountains, the huge savanna of the eastern transvaal to the rolling lush plains of the highveld. Although being a frontrunner in the region, only 25% of kenyans. Medical tourism market growth, trends, covid19 impact. Status, growth and impact of medical tourism in india. This paper therefore examines the practice of medical tourism, what gives rise to it especially in africa, the present realities african countries are facing and may continue to face, the effect and implication of it to the african continent. Pdf medical tourism is the travel of people in search of medical care that is either, unavailable, unaffordable or proscribed at home healthcare.
Medical tourism market growth, trends, covid19 impact, and. Sep 12, 2019 medical tourism to india has provided a new leash to life for african patients looking for quality yet affordable treatment. Pdf africa is both a source and a destination for patients who depart from and arrive in the region to consume healthcare that is either unavailable. Effects of medical tourism on health systems in africa. Figure 2 advantages and disadvantages of medical tourism in africa. Distributive justice, healthcare resource allocation, experimental treatments and organ transplant were the most common ethical issues of medical tourism in africa. Indias medical tourism gets africans attention africa. Africa is concurrently a source and destination of patients who form part of a global phenomenon referred to as health tourism or medical tourism mt. Global medical tourism market 2019 insights on treatment. South africa, egypt and tunisia are the three most popular mt desti nations in africa.
Open access protocol role, structure and effects of medical. Medical tourism is seeing healthy growth globally 5. Pdf effects of medical tourism on health systems in africa. Pdf southsouth medical tourism and the quest for health in. Asia currently boasts the top three major global medical tourism destinations, namely, india, singapore and thailand crush, 2012. Market overview the global medical tourism market is expected to grow with a cagr of 8. Perceived risks, travel constraints, and destination. With many private, worldclass medical institutions, highly skilled doctors, serene vacation settings and somewhat close proximity to western europe. Dec 11, 2018 medical tourism is the term coined by travel agents describing the practice of traveling to other countries for getting healthcare.
Chennai is regarded as indias health city as it attracts 45% of health tourists visiting india and 40% of domestic health tourists. Tanzania, kenya, sudan, mauritius, egypt and south africa are some of the other big spenders on medical tourism. Being indias first government perceived medical value provider, tour2india4health brings you the hospitals with the advanced medical services and the. More specifically, the development of medical tourism as an economic development strat. Medical tourism african journal of hospitality, tourism and leisure. The mta works with healthcare providers, governments, insurance companies, employers and other buyers of healthcare in their medical tourism, international patient, and healthcare initiatives with a focus on. At medtours africa, they send the patients medical records to the doctors abroad to get second medical opinion, which reverts back in 48 hours in form of a quotation for the intended treatment.
In havana, even a slight chinese influence is felt. At medical tourism sa, our goal is to enable people from all over the world to take advantage of the outstanding medical care available in south africa at highly affordable prices. South africa is considered an archetypical mt destination, off ering the discerning mts various worldclass medical services in conjunction with leisure tourism oriented products, such as game. Now representing one of the largest and fastest growing economic sectors in the world, tourism. The population of the study was patients visiting plastic surgeons. Medical tourism may raise broader ethical issues for the countries in which it is promoted. P without borders tourism and migration in outhern africa.
Update and implications 4 medical tourism guidelines a number of organizations within the u. Role, structure and effects of medical tourism in africa. Medical tourism market size industry forecast, 20192027. In this study, we take africa geoscheme approach used by the african union and united nations in. The factors associated with the growth of the market include higher treatment cost in developed countries, availability of the latest medical technologies, growing compliance on international quality standards, high quality of service, health insurance portability, and. Health insurance continues to shun the medical tourism market 4. For example, in india, some argue that a policy of medical tourism for the classes and health missions for the masses will lead to a deepening of the inequities already embedded in the health care system. Definition and data issues there is no general consensus on the definition of medical tourism. Referrals of ethiopian orthopedic patients for treatment abroad. The asia pacific is expected to register the fastest growth rate over the forecast period. Read expert commentary on medical tourism in south africa and 187 other countries along with 54 individual country metrics plus information about the healthcare system and insurance and a directory of organisations operating in the medical travel industry. Although africa was badly hit by the global crisis, the continent avoided an even worse growth shortfall in 2009, thanks to prudent macroeconomic. Kenya is the healthcare frontrunner in east africa.
Medical tourism and medical travel in southern africa. Raising clinical standards and reputation with international accreditation 2. Medical tourism is the result of increased globalization and travel mobility across international borders. Medical tourism is the process of traveling outside ones country of residence in order to obtain medical care in another country. Although south africa is renowned as a premium tourist destination and known to have worldclass private medical facilities, the country has a very low key medical tourism industry. Places like africa, however, have been largely left out of the internet revolution due. The study will focus on mt flows out of, into and within africa. Europe, the uk, and africa at large will experience very little jetlag, making the journey an easier one. In turn, savings from medical tourism can be used to finance or subsidise health insurance for the poor. Africa and argentina are popular for cosmetic surgery and in cuba for treatment of skin. A surprising fact is that cuban cuisine has almost nothing in common with the mexican one. The cuban cuisine is a fusion of spanish, african and caribbean cuisines. According to the international healthcare research center ihrc, medical tourism is likely to.
Moreover, medical tourism is forecasted to support the growth of the tourism sector at around 16% per year during 20172020. The number of medical migrants to south africa increased from 327,000 in 2006 to over 500,000 in 2009. Introduction some patients travel out of, while others come into africa for medical care through a growing global phenomenon referred to as medical tourism mt. The countries where medical tourism is being actively promoted include greece, south africa, jordan, india, malaysia, philippines and singapore. Sa increasingly marketed as top medical tourism destination.
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