Health / medical travel - News on international travel for hospital treatment & surgery: 2012

CANADA, BARBADOS, MONGOLIA: Medical tourism research: New studies in Canada

The medical tourism research group at Simon Fraser University in Canada will continue its series of studies into global medical tourism, and has...

EUROPE: The future of European health tourism resorts and companies

After a recent conference of the European Spas Association on the future of health resorts and health tourism companies in the EU, held at Usedom in...

USA: Domestic medical tourism taking off

There are more signs that domestic internal US medical tourism is taking off for employers and individuals. Cleveland Clinic and Boeing have...

CHINA: Early days for medical tourism to China

There are many things wrong with China's health service and as yet it attracts few medical tourists, while many more Chinese look overseas for...

COSTA RICA: Medical tourism numbers under question

2011 figures from International Promotion for Costa Rican Medicine (Promed) suggest that the number of medical tourists to Costa Rica was 48,000,...

TURKEY: Turkey plans free health zones to attract medical tourism

Turkey will establish free health zones to attract patients from overseas, says health minister Recep Akdağ, “With the free health zones, we will...

SOUTH KOREA: South Korea developing medical tourism

South Korea has been busy with teaching hospital executives about medical tourism, targeting Japan, and working out what it has to do...

UK: New health insurances encouraging overseas medical treatment

A UK insurance broker has launched a critical illness cover where treatment is in the USA, and a health intermediary has launched a health cash plan...

VIETNAM: Problems in developing medical tourism to Vietnam

Vietnam has seen an increase in the number of medical tourists over the last five years. But the country has no plan to develop health and medical...

BELIZE: Doctors back Belize medical tourism plan

Local doctors on Belize were originally opposed to plans to make the tiny island a medical tourism destination, but now support the...

DENMARK: Migrants may be the biggest users of cross-border healthcare in Europe

New research suggests that migrants to EU countries may prefer to go home for healthcare, not just for a short time, but for their lifetime after a...

GLOBAL: Nearly one in two people would consider medical tourism

Nearly one in two people, surveyed around the world by independent market research group Ipsos, are open to the idea of medical tourism. The Ipsos...

IRAN: Iran targets medical travel from Oman

Iran has become a destination for Omani nationals needing medical treatment. The number of Omanis visiting Iran for medical tourism is on the rise...

GLOBAL: Law and ethics in medical tourism

Glenn Cohen of Harvard Law School has written a new book called, “Patients with Passports: Medical Tourism, Law, and Ethics.” He is lecturing and...

BAHAMAS: Stem cell medical tourism clinic to be built in Bahamas

A leading cardiologist is to build a stem cell lab in the Bahamas. Dr. Conville Brown will build the $2.5 million lab at his Bahamas Heart Center...

THAILAND: Thailand to heavily promote medical and health tourism for the next three years

The Tourism Authority of Thailand says medical tourism is a key magnet that will draw more tourists to Thailand and help to generate higher tourism...

EUROPE: New European website provides advice on dental implants

A new website for people seeking dental implant advice has been launched by the European Association for Osseointegration (EAO). This is the first...

Medical tourism study tour to Poland: Invitation to companies in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Russia, UK and USA

The Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ) is organizing a 3 day study tour to Poland for insurance companies, government health...

UK: Scottish NHS patients face surgery in England or other European countries

Up to 500 Scottish NHS patients may be sent to Europe for surgery as a health board struggles to meet treatment targets. NHS Lothian said patients...

GREECE: Greeks going abroad for dental treatment Brits going to Greece

A growing number of people in Greece are putting off having dental care locally as a result of cost, while dental tourism is becoming more popular,...

USA: America's largest employer enters domestic medical tourism

Walmart, the largest employer in the USA, will from the start of 2013, offer insured employees heart, spine and transplant surgery for no...

GERMANY: Germany targets Gulf and CIS nations

A workshop tour of several Gulf countries that highlighted the benefits of going to German hospitals and clinics by the German National Tourist...

SPAIN: Costa del Sol to become medical tourism destination

Malaga has ambitious plans to become a healthcare destination. Malaga Health, set up by a group of local surgeons, will aim to attract patients to...

CROATIA: Croatian dental prices compare well with other European countries

CroMedicor, a Croatian web portal for medical tourism, has published an extensive survey of dental prices in EU countries and has compared them with...

UAE: Emiratis and expatriates in UAE opt for overseas medical care

New research that reveals why many locals and expatriates in the UAE still prefer to go abroad for medical treatment, is a potentially devastating...

EUROPE: European healthcare systems suffering from austerity measures

Austerity measures are harming EU economies and seriously damaging public health, says influential European health group European Health Forum...

COLOMBIA, COSTA RICA, MEXICO: US medical tourists are the mainstay of Central American countries

90% of medical tourists to Costa Rica come from the USA and Canada, and the figure is very similar for Colombia and Mexico. New figures from the...

JORDAN: Jordan's growth in medical tourism limited to troubled countries

Jordan's medical tourism sector expanded in 2011, says the Private Hospitals Association (PHA). PHA figures show that 240,000 visitors went to the...

ISRAEL: Israel's Ministry of Health must supervise medical tourism

A research report for Israel's Ministry of Health concludes that nobody controls inbound medical tourism. So poor is the available information that...

UK, EUROPE: New guide to cosmetic surgery abroad

Treatment Abroad has launched the Treatment Abroad Guide to Cosmetic Surgery Abroad - a new, free and independent guide for people thinking of...

ROMANIA: Romania seeks to develop health tourism and accredit spas

The Romanian health and tourism ministers see 2013 as the year that Romania must seize the opportunities offered by spa tourism, and look to develop...

MALAYSIA: Malaysian medical tourism on the increase

Malaysian healthcare is attracting medical travellers from neighbouring Asian countries and an increasing number from developed countries, including...

CHINA: Chinese medical tourists heading for Europe and Asia

Switzerland is known for attracting high paying Europeans and Arabs for health and medical tourism. The Chinese look set to be the next big market....

PHILIPPINES: New medical tourism strategy for the Philippines in 2013

The Philippines Department of Tourism expects to have a national medical tourism plan, highlighting the services offered by local clinics and...

UK/EUROPE: Falling dental implant prices can lead to dental tourism

Prices of dental implants in the UK are falling but are still relatively high compared to elsewhere. Patients seek treatment around the UK or in...

ASIA: Asian medical tourism: Latest statistics and research

A series of recent research reports on Asian destination countries shows that while medical tourism is growing, actual numbers are lower than often...

BARBADOS: American medical centre for Barbados will target medical tourists

AWC will open a hospital on Barbados for international medical tourists and locals. Winners Development, in partnership with American World Clinics...

UK: BMI Healthcare develops its international services

Leading British hospital group BMI Healthcare is developing international services to attract more overseas patients. Although it has many hospitals...

CHINA, TAIWAN: Value as a medical tourism driver for Chinese people going to Taiwan

A new academic study on Chinese medical tourists who go to Taiwan suggests that they are looking for value for money. This in turn is a mix of...

FINLAND: Russians drive increase in Finnish medical tourism

The demand for Finnish health services from Russian visitors has grown rapidly in recent years and the market is expected to triple in numbers by the...

SOUTH AFRICA: South African medical tourism is about... Africa

A new research project reports that while South Africa is often portrayed as a cosmetic surgery destination for Europeans, the reality is that by...

EUROPE: Health inequalities persist in Europe within and between countries

A new report warns that inequality between and within European countries on health care is resulting in huge social and economic costs to the region,...

GLOBAL: IMTJ is appointed the Official Journal for IMTEC 2013 in Monaco

International Medical Travel Journal has been appointed as the Official Journal of the inaugural International Medical Travel Exhibition and...

GLOBAL: Healthcare and hospital accreditation news

Temos, the German-based quality Certification Company and Turkish medical assistance company Marm Assistance have become partners to co-assess...

TAIWAN: Taiwan and Thailand ease medical tourism visa process

Chinese visitors to Taiwan for medical tourism are to get e-visas, while Thailand has eased the visa process for 6 Middle East countries. Taiwan has...

USA: Alaskan insurers sending patients to Washington

The high cost of many medical procedures in Alaska has led to insurance company Premera Blue Cross to pay air fare, hotel and other expenses for...

USA: Miami hospitals target overseas medical tourists

There are signs that US inbound medical tourism is slowly changing from an ad hoc business, to one where selected hospitals are actively targeting...

CARIBBEAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS, ST KITTS AND NEVIS: Medical tourism developments in the Caribbean

As Health City Cayman Islands and New River Medical Centre in Nevis break ground, both hope to open in 2013 to medical tourists. Dr. Devi Shetty,...

UK: Can the NHS export services overseas?

The UK government is launching a new initiative to sell NHS services overseas. Hospitals are to be encouraged by the government to sell their...

SPAIN: New residency requirements to combat 'free medical tourism'

In a move to cut down on alleged 'free medical tourism' by holidaymakers, non-Spanish residents and part-time overseas residents who go to Spain...

INDONESIA, NIGERIA: Indonesian and Nigerian governments aim to reduce outbound medical tourism

Concerned at the currency loss from the billions of naira that Nigeria spends on overseas medical treatment for thousands of Nigerians, the Federal...

BELIZE: Can Belize become a medical tourism destination?

Local politicians have talked up the potential of Belize as a medical tourism destination that could rival Costa Rica for American business, but is...

GLOBAL: New international accreditation for long term care and rehabilitation

With a rising elderly population globally, two international accreditation organizations have launched programmes for long term care and...

INDIA: A new reality enters Indian medical tourism

There is growing evidence that India is at last realizing that the growth of its medical tourism relies not on the out of reach potential of US and...

UK: Major government review of cosmetic surgery

Although cosmetic surgery is a major mainstay of international and national medical tourism, it is rarely properly regulated and although it has many...

TURKEY: Ukraine and Russia will lead increase in Turkish health and medical tourism

Dr. Yahya Öztel, the owner of Turmed, a medical tourism agency operating in Russia and Ukraine says that growth of health and medical tourism in...

GLOBAL: News from TEMOS, ACI, JCI on international accreditation

Accreditation Canada International is expanding the adoption of its Qmentum International accreditation programme to hospitals in Oman and...

GLOBAL: New books on the business of medical tourism

“Medical Tourism: The Ethics, Regulation, and Marketing of Health Mobility” a new hardback book costing £85, from major publishers Routledge, is...

UK: London comes out top for Arabs seeking cosmetic surgery

90% of Arabs who leave the Middle East to have cosmetic surgery performed come to Europe, and more than half of them choose London for their...

SAUDI ARABIA: Promotion of medical tourism to Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has done much to add to and improve local hospitals to make them up to date; but has had little success in attracting...

GLOBAL: Key findings from medical tourism benchmarking research

Mercury Advisory Group has put together 30 key findings from global research on medical tourism. Maria Todd of Mercury explains, “Our consultants...

USA: Surgery prices vary significantly across US hospitals

The problem of making comparisons of overseas prices against US prices, and one reason that US domestic medical tourism is growing, is shown by a new...

LEBANON: Syrian civil war damages Lebanese medical tourism

Just as it starts to recover from the last conflict, Lebanese medical tourism is being damaged by the problems of neighbour Syria. Tourism and...

INDIA: Omanis prefer India for medical tourism

India is becoming a favourite destination for Omani medical tourists; there has been a steep rise in the number of visas being issued to India-bound...

AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND: Health insurer may become medical tourism agent

Australian health insurer, nib, is considering becoming a medical tourism agent for its customers, but not offering insurance cover for medical...

CANADA: Fraser Institute claims thousands have left Canada for medical care

Nadeem Esmail of the Fraser Institute think tank claims that 46,169 Canadians left the country to get medical treatment elsewhere, mostly in the USA,...

THAILAND: New realistic medical tourism figures from Thailand

More foreigners are seeking medical treatment in Thailand each year, with 2012 expecting to see 2.53 million foreign patients generating Bt121.6...

DUBAI, LIBYA, JORDAN: Dubai seeks to increase medical tourism with Libyan help

In another attempt to promote medical tourism in the emirate, Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) will open specialised centres for oncology, genetic...

INDIA: First hotel spa to get NABH accreditation

Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi's R The Spa has become the first spa in a five-star hotel to be awarded accreditation by the National Accreditation Board...

PHILIPPINES: Philippines seeks international investors for medical tourism

The Philippines Department of Tourism (DoT) is urging British businessmen to invest in Philippine medical tourism. The DoT has also pitched to local...

THAILAND: Australians go offshore for alcohol and drug dependency rehab

Rehab and addiction treatment are the often forgotten areas of medical tourism. Thailand is seeing an increase in the number of Australians going...

JAMAICA: Jamaica to promote health and wellness tourism

The industry, investment and commerce minister, Anthony Hylton, says that all Jamaicans will benefit from the government's plans to expand the...

POLAND: Poland wants a top spot among medical tourism destinations

Poland aims to use the Euro 2012 football tournament to kick-start promotion of a profitable tourism segment – health and medical services. If the...

UK, EUROPE: Signature healthcare plan covers UK and overseas treatment

Allianz Worldwide Care has launched Signature, a private medical insurance plan where treatment can be undertaken inside or outside the UK, in line...

ISRAEL: Government attempt to increase medical tourism hits internal opposition

While the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) seeks to expand medical tourism in Israel, both the finance and health ministries, who fear that more medical...

CANADA: Canadian companies marketing medical travel

After last year's analysis of defunct Canadian medical tourism agencies, Leigh Turner from the Centre of Bioethics at the University of Minnesota in...

UK: New health insurance plan covers medical tourism

A groundbreaking product from Passport2Health, a new entrant to the private healthcare insurance market, combines private UK diagnostics with private...

UK: First British hospital gets DNV Healthcare Accreditation

King Edward VII's Hospital in London has received an international quality accreditation from DNV Healthcare, as it seeks to increase the number of...

EUROPE: Cross-border healthcare in Europe will help people with rare diseases

EURORDIS has prepared a questions and answers document to help people understand the EU legislation on cross border healthcare and to ensure its...

BAHAMAS, BERMUDA, CURACAO, TURKS AND CAICOS: Moves to expand Caribbean medical tourism

With a population of just 142,000, the Dutch owned Curacao is hoping to attract American medical tourists to its one hospital, two private clinics,...

SOUTH KOREA: South Korea targets Filipinos, Cambodians and Russians

South Korea gets many tourists from Cambodia, Russia and the Philippines, and is now seeking ways to attract many more medical tourists from these...

BALI, SINGAPORE: Targeting medical tourists with special accommodation

Both Singapore and Bali attract high-paying medical tourists by offering much more than basic hospital accommodation. Singapore's Raffles Hospital...

JORDAN, IRAN, DUBAI: Gulf region competing in a tough medical tourism market

Jordan's medical tourism sector is expected to grow this year but badly needs a strategy, says Zuhair Abu Faris of the Jordan Hospitals Association,...

GERMANY: German hotels and hospitals target Middle East medical tourists

Proving that low prices are not the only way to get medical tourists, German hotels and hospitals are attracting an increasing number of customers...

BALKANS: Cross-Balkan health and medical tourism network established

An EU-funded project, the Adriatic Health and Vitality Network (AHVN), seeks to establish a co-coordinated system of health and medical tourism that...

GLOBAL: Transplant tourism - Illegal trade in organs under scrutiny

Many transplants use legally obtained organs, but despite many laws to stop it, the global trade in illegal kidneys and other replacement organs is...

TURKEY: Free health zones planned to encourage medical tourism

The Turkish government will soon decide where, or perhaps if, to place one or more new free health zones. The Ministries of Health, Economy, Tourism...

BULGARIA, CROATIA, MACEDONIA, ROMANIA: Medical tourism developments in the Balkans

Romanian medical tourism saw 60,000 foreign arrivals in 2011, with dental, ophthalmic and cosmetic surgery services being the most sought after, says...

COSTA RICA: Steady growth for Costa Rica medical tourism

Although exact numbers are not available, indirect evidence from hospitals and clinics and medical tourism agencies says that Costa Rica is getting...

JAPAN: Certification system to promote medical tourism

The Japanese government is planning to launch a new system of certifying hospitals and clinics involved in medical tourism, as Japan seeks to...

POLAND: Government promotion of Polish medical tourism

The government has begun to support Polish medical tourism with a promotional campaign funded by the EU. The Ministry of Economy has identified...

New medical tourism web site for fertility treatment

UK online publishers, Intuition Communication, have launched a new medical travel web site aimed at infertile couples. Fertility Treatment Abroad...

AFRICA, GHANA, NIGERIA: African countries seeking to reduce outbound medical tourism

Several African countries want to reduce the flow of outbound medical tourism, mostly to India, and eventually become local medical tourism...

SOUTH KOREA: Jeju Healthcare Town to attract medical tourists

Jeju Healthcare Town, part of Jeju Free International City Development Center (JDC), has broken ground and expects to be built by 2015 on the...

MEXICO: Mexico increases efforts to attract US medical tourists

Despite safety concerns in a few border towns, Mexico continues to see a boom with Americans seeking low price surgery or dental and cosmetic...

USA: New national tourism strategy will help inbound medical tourism

The first ever national strategy to promote all forms of inbound tourism to the USA, and make it quicker and easier for people to enter the USA as...

CENTRAL EUROPE, CZECH REPUBLIC, HUNGARY: Central Europe promoting medical tourism

Medical tourism has been identified as a lucrative market for many Central European countries. Tourism promotion agency CzechTourism has launched...

GLOBAL: Soter puts forward a different view on international medical accreditation and certification

Many potential medical tourists are told that the only safe hospitals are those with international accreditation; many Americans are told that they...

CYPRUS: Cyprus and Libya to co-operate on medical tourism

The Cyprus health minister Stavros Malas has travelled to Libya to investigate attracting patients from Libya to Cyprus for medical treatment, “The...

PAKISTAN: Could Pakistan become a medical tourism destination?

Local doctors argue that Pakistan should promote medical tourism as it offers excellent treatment at very low costs. It used to attract more patients...

JAMAICA: Jamaica sees potential in health tourism

Health tourism could be a viable income-generating option, which, if pursued, could bring substantial numbers of visitors to Jamaica, argues Dr...

FINLAND: Medical tourism from Russia to Finland is growing

For many years medical travellers have gone to private Finnish clinics for treatment and now public hospitals want to attract Russian business....

GLOBAL: New medical tourism certification program for international patient centers

Many organizations assess and accredit hospitals in general, but the part of the hospital that many medical tourists come into contact with is the...

GLOBAL: Informa launches new international medical tourism conference EMTC becomes IMTEC

Dr Uwe Klein, Chairman of the European Medical Travel Conference (EMTC) and Informa Life Sciences, a major events and publishing business in the...

SPAIN: Complaints about treating foreigners a sign of things to come on EU cross-border healthcare directive

Spain has excellent private hospitals and clinics that attract paying medical tourists from the UK and many other European countries. But the...

TUNISIA: New government in Tunisia markets medical tourism

The new government of Tunisia is targeting visitors with a marketing campaign from the Tunisian National Tourist Office (TNTO). The smallest nation...

CAYMAN ISLANDS: Ascension Health Alliance invests in Cayman medical tourism project

Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospitals of India has entered into a partnership with Ascension Health Alliance of the USA to build Dr. Devi Shetty's hospital...

SINGAPORE, TAIWAN: Singapore and Taiwan target regional medical tourism business

Business from Europe has fallen, while higher prices and tougher competition mean Middle East and Russian business is at best static; but Singapore...

UK/GLOBAL: Medical tourism research project continues through 2012

York academics researching aspects of medical tourism are still keen to talk to people who have paid for treatment overseas, people who have...

CHINA: China invests in medical tourism resort

A Chinese town is to create an international medical tourism project for the hot spring resort of Ruzhou. The total investment is ＄400 million....

VIETNAM: Vietnam considers enhanced promotion of medical tourism

Vietnam is beginning to seriously promote itself as a destination for medical tourism. The government admits that 30,000 people go to other...

CANADA: New research planned by Canadian University

Canada is often seen as a target market for providing medical tourists, but there is very little academic or other research. In Barbados, American...

TAIWAN: Taiwan needs a better medical tourism strategy for China

Medical tourism providers want a more integrated strategy to attract more potential customers from China as they feel that the effect of a new policy...

UK, SPAIN: British pursuit of health and wellness tourism increases

Health tourism and health travel are on the up as 94% of British people now seek holidays to pursue health and fitness, says The Body Holiday survey...

DUBAI: Crown Prince launches new medical tourism initiative in Dubai

Sheikh Hamdam, Crown Prince of Dubai summoned the top officials of various government and private sector bodies to a weekend meeting where he...

SWITZERLAND: Healthcare quality attracts medical tourists to Switzerland

Proving that medical tourism is not all about providing treatment at the lowest price, Switzerland continues to increase the number of medical...

THAILAND: Medical travel complications insurance launched

A new medical travel insurance product has been launched just for medical tourists to Thailand. Episodes Medical Travel Insurance offers travellers...

TURKEY: Innovative language hotline for medical tourists

The Turkish health ministry has launched a hotline that will break the language barrier for tourists seeking medical treatment, using a...

USA: USA gets organized on inbound medical tourism

Until recently US hospitals all acted independently on inbound medical tourism so there was no co-ordination or co-operation. There are several new...

ASIA: Asia-Pacific healthcare market booming

In 2011, the Asia Pacific healthcare market was 28.5% of the global healthcare market. It is expected to represent 34.6% of the global healthcare...

JORDAN, LIBYA, TURKEY, LEBANON: Libyan government ceases payment for unapproved treatment in Jordan

The Libyan government is no longer paying Jordanian hospitals for the treatment of Libyan patients who travel to Jordan without prior approval. Ali...

GERMANY: Germany performing well on medical and health tourism

The German National Tourist Board (DZT) forecasts that health and medical tourism will grow strongly over the coming decades, due to changes in...

MIDDLE EAST, GULF: GCC residents highly satisfied with access to healthcare

Dissatisfaction with healthcare at home is a prime driver of medical tourism, so it is interesting to see how people in different countries in the...

GLOBAL: Medical Tourism Facts and Figures 2012

A major new independent report takes a look at what is happening in the world of medical tourism, and gives guidance as to where the future...

AFRICA: New international healthcare accreditation for African hospitals and clinics

A new foundation aims to improve healthcare delivery in African countries, with a long-term aim of reducing the need for Africans to travel to India...

MALAYSIA, INDONESIA: Record year for Malaysian medical tourism

Medical tourism in Malaysia hit record levels in 2011 and is on track to achieve yet another year of healthy numbers in 2012. But with the bulk of...

ROMANIA: Romanian government promotes medical tourism and health/wellness tourism

A new project to strengthen the competitiveness of Romanian medical tourism has been initiated by the Romanian Ministry of Regional Development and...

UAE: Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah look to attract medical tourists

While Dubai is the focus of attention, it should not be forgotten that it is only one of the seven states within the UAE. Abu Dhabi and Ras Al...

INDIA: Report forecasts India medical tourism to double by 2015

A new report from research firm Technopak Advisors argues that the revenue from medical tourism to India is set to grow 250% between 2010 and 2015...

GUERNSEY: Medical tourism potential for Guernsey?

A new independent report for the government says that Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands, could diversify its economy by promoting medical...

PHILIPPINES: Confusion over medical tourism in the Philippines

While politicians urged the Department of Tourism to promote medical tourism, a tourism official told a national conference that it had failed to...

BELIZE: Local doctors oppose medical tourism plans for Belize

There is growing controversy over the potential development of medical tourism in Belize. The policies are currently being drafted and could open up...

BALTIC, ESTONIA, LATVIA & LITHUANIA: Baltic states promote medical and wellness tourism.

Although between them they have less than 8 million residents, the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are extending beyond their...

MIDDLE EAST: The winds of change will affect Middle-East medical tourism

There are already signs that the winds of change in the Middle East will affect medical tourism, but in each country the effects may...

UK: New research on inbound and outbound UK medical tourism raises questions.

New research on inbound and outbound UK medical tourism,' by academics from the University of Birmingham and University of York, raises fundamental...

GLOBAL: Is medical tourism recession proof?

According to a new report by Global Industry Analysts - 'Specialty Tourism: A Global Outlook' - medical tourism continues to grow despite the...

BAHAMAS: Bahamas seeks to reverse flow of medical tourists

The Bahamas provides the largest international client base for several hospitals in South Florida, with thousands of patients every year, but a new...

SOUTH KOREA: Inbound medical tourism revenue exceeds outbound in 2011

South Korea posted a net surplus in medical tourism for the first time ever in 2011 as medical tourists spent US $115.6 million in Korea, while...

COLOMBIA: New health complex could boost Colombian medical tourism

A new health complex in the capital Bogota, costing between $11m and $19m, could boost health, wellness and cosmetic tourism to Colombia. The...

GULF: Gulf Arab region struggles to ease hospitals shortage

At the Arab Health Congress in Dubai, hospitals across the world demonstrated their plans to expand within the Gulf Arab region where the fast...

PHILIPPINES: The Philippines next sunrise industry is medical tourism

The Philippines has long sought to be a major medical tourism destination, and a new study suggests both why it has failed and why it can succeed in...

SOUTH AFRICA: South Africa medical tourism is not surgeon and safari

If figures from a Canadian academic are correct, South Africa had over 400,000 medical tourists in 2010 and currently gets 300,000 to 350,000 a year,...

UK: Private hospitals target overseas medical tourists, but NHS Global initiative falters

The London Clinic is the latest to target Middle East medical tourists but while fellow independent hospitals successfully attract top-end medical...

USA: New national strategy on travel and tourism could boost medical tourism

President Obama has announced the first ever national strategy on travel and tourism to boost travel to the United States and make it the number one...

CAYMAN ISLANDS: Medical tourism hospital in Caymans is test bed for a chain across Africa

As Dr. Devi Shetty's plan for a medical tourism hospital in Grand Cayman gets closer to fruition, he told the BBC that if it works, it would become a...

SOUTH KOREA: Government promotion and encouragement of medical tourism is working

2011 was a disappointing year for many medical tourism destinations, but active promotion and encouragement from the government saw South Korea...

INDIA: How to improve Indian medical tourism

The latest official figures on travel and medical tourism to India have put paid to the claim that India has millions of medical tourists, many from...

MIDDLE EAST: Impact of the Arab Spring on medical tourism trade in 2011

The Middle East lost five million tourists last year due to the impact of the Arab Spring, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. New...

GLOBAL: Patients Beyond Borders and Medeguide form alliance

Patients Beyond Borders, a source of consumer and industry information about international health travel, and Medeguide, an online international...

IRAN: New law on health tourism planned

Iran attracts patients from neighbouring states mostly for transplants, ophthalmology, orthopedics and dentistry. Mohammadreza Shams-Ardekani of the...

UK: Are dental implants cheaper in the UK or abroad?

A UK dental provider argues that dental implants are cheaper at home than overseas. But with prices so variable around the country, it can be worth...

CROATIA: EU membership will strengthen Croatia in the health tourism sector

Croatia has signed a EU accession treaty, paving the way for the former Yugoslav republic to join the 27-country bloc in mid-2013, after almost a...

GERMANY: Berlin targets health tourism

More and more patients going to Germany for medical treatment are choosing to go to Berlin. With 18,000 specialist doctors, 121,500 hotel beds, 70...

GLOBAL: Medical tourism training programme for international patient centres

An increasing number of hospitals are setting up international patient centres to help medical tourists with treatment, accommodation and travel; but...

USA: Medaway and Gorgeous Getaways expand their offices to the US

Medaway Health and Gorgeous Getaways, the avant-garde partnership companies of medical tourism and cosmetic surgery have announced their corporate...

SAUDI ARABIA: New hospitals and health tourism project in Saudi Arabia

Brazilian construction company Braengel has been chosen to design a $500m complex including a hospital and a five star hotel in Riyadh. The project...

TAIWAN: Taiwan receives first Chinese application for medical tourism

The first application for Chinese visitors seeking to go to Taiwan for medical treatment was submitted to the National Immigration Agency (NIA) one...

UK: Dental treatment abroad by auction

A new auction site claims that it will shake up the dental tourism industry. ClickFlySmile has launched a new dental auction tool that enables...

CHINA: China stops all stem cell tourism

China's instant ban on unapproved stem cell treatment will affect some US patients, and a handful of specialist medical tourism agencies who have...

USA: More employers to follow PepsiCo and Lowe's on domestic medical tourism

US hospitals that made deals with major US employers are negotiating with other national companies on domestic medical tourism. Cleveland Clinic and...

GLOBAL: Which countries do people select as a medical tourism destination?

Working out which nationalities go where for medical treatment is an intriguing question. Speaking at a recent medical tourism seminar at the...

GERMANY: German clinic attracts international patients for orthopedic treatment

A specialist German clinic is proof that high quality treatment and luxury accommodation is an attraction to international patients; and that...

USA: Rabbi is first to be convicted of organ transplant tourism

In the USA, Rabbi Levy Izhak Rosenbaum has become the first person in the country to be convicted of selling and trafficking in human organs. A New...

MAURITIUS: Mauritius needs strategic focus to develop medical tourism sector

Among the critical factors for a country to be a successful medical tourism destination it has to have geographical proximity, good airlinks,...

GLOBAL: AAAHC international accreditation gathers pace

Following a successful start to accrediting Costa Rica clinics that desire international accreditation to help in their efforts to attract more...

SOUTH KOREA: Government strategy for medical tourism helps South Korean hospitals

While the governments of rival countries talk up medical tourism, few are so active and successful in assisting local hospitals and clinics as South...

International medical travel news: 2012