Medical tourism has long been an impotent sector in Asia, but hopes for a post-pandemic boom are growing and a new report shows just how big it could become. The takeaway is this, medical tourism is growing in Asia.

According to the report, the global medical tourism market was pegged at $104.68 billion in 2019 and is anticipated to reach $273.72 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 12.8% from 2020 to 2027.

Key determinants of the market-

Affordable good quality care, accessible information and care, and support from government agencies and associations fuel the growth of the global medical tourism market. On the other hand, limited coverage, lengthy partial reimbursement by payers, and difficulties related to travel, language barriers, and VISA approval issues impede the market growth. However, overseas promotion offers and wide hospital networks under insurance coverage for cashless transactions usher a plethora of opportunities in the near future.

Covid-19 scenario-

• The global medical tourism industry has been through an unprecedented disruption during the Covid-19 outbreak, which resulted in uncertainty in demand for various medical products and industrial applications.
• Prolonged lockdown, on the other hand, disrupted the supply chain which affected the manufacturing processesas well as created shortage of raw materials.
• China and India, which are amongst the major medical tourism destinations have undergone adverse impact due to the Covid-19 outbreak and country-wise lockdown. Also, travel restrictions and postponement of cross-border travels further affected the medical tourism market.
• The government bodies, however, are now initiating to loosen up the regulations, which may assist the industry to recoup soon.

The cancer treatment segment dominated the market in 2027-

Based on technology, the cancer treatment segment accounted for the largest share in 2019, with nearly one-fifth of the global medical tourism market. This is attributed to increase in the number of cross-border travelers seeking quality cancer treatment and reduced cost in different countries. On the other hand, the orthopedic treatment segment is projected to register the highest CAGR of 14.8% during the forecast period. Orthopedic treatment is one of the widely performed services globally. This factor drives the growth of the segment.

Asia-Pacific to rule the roost, North America to grow at a pace by 2027-

Based on region, the global medical tourism market across Asia-Pacific dominated in 2019, with more than one-third of the market. Additionally, the region is also anticipated to manifest the highest CAGR of 13.6% during the forecast period. This is owing to the availability of quality care at relatively low cost of treatments, inexpensive flights, and increase in marketing & online consumer information about the accessibility of medical services. At the same time, the market across North America is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.4% during the forecast period.