How large is the market?

Medical Tourism is a booming market - no doubt about that. But how large is really the market worldwide?

Unfortunately there are no realiable figures available so far. Even some official figures are either

- overstated as it is the case in my opinion with respect to some of the figures from Asia or
- understated such as the German figures from what I can tell.

As there are no realistic figures on a nationwide basis it is more than understandable that figures for the total market vary as well - no matter if you are talking of numbers of patients or of figures in US dollars. Thus there are many different studies out there trying to estimate the global market of Medical Tourism - ranging from the rather "pessimistic" (or maybe conservative) estimates by McKinsey to a more "optimistic" study of Deloitte or other institutions.

But what is a "Medical Tourist"?
Another reason for differences in the figures might also lay in the different definitions of a Medical Tourist. While some nations rather include all foreign patients in their official figures, it has to be questioned if this is really a fruitful definition of a Medical Tourist.

So how can you state that Medical Tourism (or Health Tourism) is a growth market?
Well, this is a good question. There are some indicators that might help interpreting Medical Tourism as a growing market:

- most (at least all that I am aware of) studies foresee a significant growth rate for the market
- many nations (e.g. Hungary, Singapore, Belgium) and regions (e.g. Bonn/Germany) are investing heavily in marketing activities and/or in improving the medical infrastructure
- a growing demand from emerging countries such as Kazakhstan which profit from their natural ressources and/or growing industrial power

Besides, in contrast to high spending level in their medical systems Arab nations like Kuwait and the UAE have not succeeded so far in establishing a comprehensive, high quality medical system.

Thus, while I totally agree that Medical Tourism is one of the most interesting growth markets today I still think that most figures out there are highly overstated or simply unreliable. Countries like Hungary, Singapore, India, but also Germany and the US will continue to benefit from a growing demand in medical services.