Travellop – Travel Blog

The Philippines has been growing as a destination for medical tourism. Procedures can be performed at a fraction of the amount that a patient would spend on the same procedure in the US or Europe. Philippine medical and nursing curricula are more challenging than in many in Southeast Asia, and many Filipino doctors have acquired their postgraduate or fellowship training from well-known institutions in the US, the UK and other developed countries.

Most medical tourism visitors to Singapore, although impressed by the hygienic standards and international class hospitals, complain that Singapore is not “Asian” enough. What they mean is that the country lacks the exotica and culture shock that is the staple introduction to tourism in other Asian countries. This could be because Singaporeans wait until the Chinese New Year rolls around to show off their culture.

The Chinese Lunar Year falls in January or February based on the lunar cycle, and in some ways, this is the best time to visit Singapore. The country’s majority Chinese population celebrates in style with colorful decorations and the Chingpay Parade. Homes are decorated with good luck banners, and dance troupes perform the lion dance outside shops to attract good fortune. The lion dance in fact is one of Singapore’s most iconic symbols, an ancient dance performed to the banging of cymbals and traditionally staged by young men. All this makes for a cultural extravaganza, belying the complaint that Singapore is too westernized.

However, in the days leading up to the New Year, Singapore is a shopper’s nightmare. Everything is grossly marked up making freebies and bargains temporarily extinct, crowds are insane, and even simple things like haircuts will cost more than their usual prices. In fact if shopping is one of the Singapore attractions you want to indulge in on your medical tourism vacation, you should probably avoid this time altogether. For a massive dose of retail therapy, come during the Great Singapore Shopping Festival that begins in late May and continues till early June.

Overseas visitors could be adding boob jobs and dental work to their itineraries in a bold bid by the holiday industry to capture some of the $US20 billion ($21 billion) medical tourism market.

While thousands of Australians head to mainly Asian countries for medical procedures, little is being done to lure some of the 19 million annual global health visits here.

Jones Lang LaSalle health manager Lois Towart said Asian travellers saw Australia’s medical system as being of high quality and backed by a legal system mitigating against liability for malpractice.

“For them, Australia is a much more viable option for medical travel than Europe or the US,” Ms Towart said.

In Panama, health and medical tourism is growing rapidly. Factors drawing medical tourists include Panama’s tourist appeal, position as a hub for international travel, and use of the dollar as the official currency. More important, Panama’s medical professionals are trained around the world, use the latest technologies and medications, and have earned a high reputation. Many of Panama’s doctors are bilingual, board certified, and accustomed to working with the same medical equipment and technology used in the United States and Europe. On most procedures, Panama offers savings of more than 50% compared to the US and Europe. For example, Dental implants cost an average of $2,500 per implant in the US or Canada. In Panama, the same procedure with board and lodging, personal tour guide, and transportation is available at a much lower cost.

India is known in particular for heart surgery, hip resurfacing and other areas of advanced medicine. The government and private hospital groups are committed to the goal of making India a leader in the industry. The industry’s main appeal is low-cost treatment. Most estimates claim treatment costs in India start at around a tenth of the price of comparable treatment in America or Britain. India is becoming the destination of choice for US citizens seeking complicated, high-end medical procedures.

The south Indian city of Chennai has been declared India’s Health Capital, as it nets in 45% of health tourists from abroad and 30-40% of domestic health tourists.
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New Zealand is a relatively new player to the medical travel market, focusing on non-acute surgical procedures and fertility treatment. Like other Commonwealth countries, New Zealand’s medical system is based on the British health system. Most of its specialist physicians have received training in New Zealand and the US or the UK, and all use English as their first language.

The costs of private healthcare are significantly cheaper than the US or the UK, with packages (airfare, accommodation, medical service etc) for procedures like hip replacement, or coronary artery bypass costing in total approximately 40% of the procedure cost alone in the US. Many private hospitals in New Zealand are accredited by the national accreditation agency Quality Health New Zealand (QHNZ). QHNZ, like JCI, is a member of the International Society for Quality in healthcare or ISQua.

The medical tourism industry, currently worth US$56 billion worldwide, is projected to be worth US$100 billion by 2012, figures have revealed.

Women’s Healthcare, an inaugural event at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre, has been showcasing the healthcare travel industry, which is growing 15 – 20 percent per annum, highlighting the benefits of traveling abroad for both preventative and curative medical procedures.

Spearheading this expanding market is the Spa Association of the Philippines reporting a 200 per cent growth each year of the Asian spa industry in the Asia- Pacific region, the fastest growing sector of tourism in the area.
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India’s growing reputation as a major medical tourism destination is attracting more and more visitors from Gulf countries. And many travel agents are now offering packages combining treatment with a vacation.