Fitch Solutions Country Risk & Industry Research says that key emerging markets will benefit from a revival in medical tourism in 2022 as travel restrictions are relaxed, which will generate short-term growth in the markets for healthcare and medical devices products.
It is said that an expected increase in tourism numbers over 2022 will include medical tourists seeking healthcare services abroad which will support short-term growth in healthcare markets in these destinations.
“Medical tourism is the term used to describe people seeking elective and non-emergency medical treatment in a country other than where they reside. Medical tourism is driven primarily by consumers in developed economies which have a high cost of healthcare, seeking more affordable options and by consumers in developing economies seeking better quality healthcare treatments abroad,” Fitch said.
Fitch said that tourist numbers in 2022 will significantly rebound following two years of disruption because of the Covid-19 pandemic, although arrival numbers will likely still be below pre-pandemic levels in many countries.
It said that many of the leading destinations of medical tourism recorded significant declines in arrival numbers over 2020 and 2021 with the pandemic forcing the implementation of travel restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.
“Over 2022, we forecast arrival numbers to increase substantially in many of these leading emerging markets for medical tourism. However, in many emerging markets such as Thailand, Malaysia, South Africa, Brazil and India, arrival numbers will still be depressed compared to 2019 levels, “Fitch said.
The research house said that revenues from medical tourism can be a substantial source of income for some emerging economies and the resumption of medical tourism will support short-term growth in healthcare and medical device markets.
It said that the popularity of medical tourism has increased significantly over the last several decades. In Turkey, the share of health expenditures in tourism increased from 1% in 2002 to 4.5% in 2020, according to data from USHAS.
“The country recorded over USD1bn in revenues in 2019 for foreign visitors and citizens living abroad visiting for health and medical reasons. This figure dropped to just over USD0.5billion in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic and decline in international tourists. In India, the government has sought to attract visitors seeking healthcare and expand the county’s medical tourism industry,” Fitch said.
Fitch said that rises in Covid-19 case burdens, or the emergence of new coronavirus variants and subsequent travel restrictions is a risk to the recovery of the medical tourism sector over 2022.
Fitch said that its expectation of a revival in medical tourism in 2022 is countered by the possibility of new waves of Covid-19 outbreaks or even the emergence of new coronavirus variants.
“For example, the emergence of the Omicron coronavirus variant in November 2021 led to the introduction of new travel restrictions. This was initially for people from South Africa and surrounding countries where the variant was first discovered, but this has extended to more wider restrictions on global travel, with many countries entering into nationwide lockdowns in attempts to curb rising Covid-19 case numbers,” it said.
Fitch said that the tourism industry will continue to be exposed to Covid-19 risks for the duration of the pandemic, specifically from potential restrictions on travel resulting from high case numbers. Travel restrictions will impede tourists seeking medical treatment abroad and may weigh on the growth of healthcare and medical device markets in many key emerging markets with a greater emphasis on medical tourism.
