Medical tourism in Cancún has seen significant growth, prompting Andrés Jurado Viera, president of the medical tourism commission at the Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex), to highlight the need to boost the promotion of this segment.
“We estimate between 20,000 and 25,000 annual visitors coming for various specialties, with the main ones being dentistry, plastic surgery, bariatric surgery, and orthopedic surgery. However, there are increasingly new proposals here in our destination, which is very interesting because medical tourism has driven investments that also benefit us as residents by providing access to more and better medical options,” said Jurado Viera, as reported by La Jornada.
Medical tourism generates an economic impact of over 250 million dollars, thanks to the existing hospitals. Additionally, the average stay is 11.3 nights, and the economic impact exceeds 10,500 dollars per accommodation.
“We still have a long way to go, but what’s interesting here is that the procedures growing in demand are not highly complex; they are routine surgeries, hip replacements, knee replacements, which are generally more schedulable, simpler, and less risky,” said Jurado Viera.
Cancún has been promoting medical tourism to diversify the state’s economy, as 70% of international travelers who come for a medical procedure later return for recreational tourism.
This niche adds to the numerous voices in recent weeks calling for changes in the promotion of the destination, following recent shifts that have coincided with a decline in tourist arrivals, in contrast to the boom enjoyed by rival destinations like Punta Cana.
Source: Reportur
