Medical Tourism Sags as Inflation and War Find Consumers Forgoing Treatments

Medical tourism is ailing as first COVID, then economic and geopolitical snags have slowed the brisk business in going abroad for less costly medical specialties.

As Reuters reported Monday (Feb. 27), “For years, traveling abroad to clinics in countries like Hungary and Turkey has been an option for British and North American patients who face long waits, high costs or both for dental and medical procedures at home.”

It added, however, that “operators had hoped for a rapid bounce back after curbs on travel were lifted. But inflation fueled by soaring energy and food prices since the Ukraine war started a year ago has left people with little money to spare, especially for cosmetic procedures.”

Central Europe has grown into a major medical tourism destination in recent years, largely catering to clients in the U.K. and even nearby nations, and the war in Ukraine is having a chilling effect on those seeking less expensive medical tourism in centers like Hungary which shares a border with Ukraine.

The war is a major disruptor, but as Reuters reported, inflation is also an enemy to medical tourism now as airfares, accommodations, and treatments are all skyrocketing in price.

“Rising airfares and fewer flights — and the memory of last summer’s travel chaos — are also putting off would-be patients,” clinic operators and analysts told the news outlet, which added that “For some trips, like those to Turkey, airline tickets can be twice what they were in 2019, according to WeCure, which specializes in medical tourism to large hubs like Turkey from countries like Britain.”

That report noted that “WeCure said flights, ground transfers, and petrol now accounted for about 15% of the cost of its travel and treatment packages, roughly double their proportion pre-COVID, putting upward pressure on overall prices.”

The double whammy for medical tourists is that clinics and providers are raising prices as well. When combined with hikes in travel costs it’s making medical travel even less accessible.

“There will be some trade-offs (for customers),” WeCure’s CEO Emre Atceken told Reuters. “Instead of having a hair transplant. I’d rather pay my gas bills. I would rather pay my electric bills.”

While the story noted that data on medical tourism is “poor” it cited The International Medical Travel Journal, published by market intelligence service LaingBuisson, as estimating that sector is “currently worth around $21 billion, less than pre-pandemic.

The IMTJ is projecting annual growth of 5% to 10% calling it “far less than some projections” although the cutbacks are being felt more in elective procedures like cosmetic treatments and less so in acute situations like joint replacements and some dental treatments like implants.