The Secretary of Tourism of the Government of Mexico, Miguel Torruco Marqués, participated in the II Virtual Forum on Medical Tourism, organized by the Mexican Council of the Medical Tourism Industry, in which various experts in the field from various parts of the world participated.
In his participation, the head of Sectur affirmed that tourism is a very noble and generous economic activity, which will continue to generate development, progress and well-being throughout the world and, although it is currently experiencing difficult times due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it will soon begin his recovery and he will move forward.
He argued that it is a reality that once the confinement due to the health crisis is over, in the tourism field there will be fierce competition for international markets, with potential tourists who are increasingly informed and demanding, who will be eager to live new experiences.
For this reason, he added that it is necessary to redouble efforts and incorporate more and better products that meet the expectations of the more than 1.4 billion tourists who travel the world every year, as well as promote new market segments.
And although he warned that the recovery of the industry will be gradual, one of these segments with great potential is Medical Tourism, which is estimated to grow globally by up to 25 percent in a decade, according to information from International Healthcare Research.
Secretary Torruco Marqués stated that the growth of the Medical Tourism industry worldwide will be based, as before the contingency, on various factors, including geographic location, private hospital investments, infrastructure and advanced technology equipment. , quality of medical services, air connectivity, good prices for treatment and interventions and, without a doubt, the tourist attractions of each country.
«Another aspect that I consider will be of great relevance will be the certification of hospital establishments, which guarantees compliance with standards that refer to patient safety, the quality of medical care, hospital safety, current regulations and the priority international health policies”, he said.
Likewise, he specified that it is also important to establish agreements with international insurers on the scope of coverage offered to future health tourists outside their countries of residence.
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“All these aspects will make a difference and will play an increasingly leading role in terms of competitiveness”, he pointed out.
He highlighted that in Mexico Medical Tourism had been showing significant growth, with an increase in both demand and supply, especially in the states located along the border with the United States: Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas; although it has also stood out in other entities, such as Mexico City, Jalisco, Guanajuato and Yucatán, among others.
According to data from Patients Beyond Borders, between 1,400,000 and 3,000,000 foreign patients had been treated in Mexico, including migrants who returned for various treatments, with which the country ranked second in Medical Tourism in recent years. worldwide, only after Thailand, and the first position in dental tourism.
Another of the specialties that has shown a notable boom is plastic surgery, which has placed Mexico among the five countries with the highest demand for this type of medical care, with ample possibilities of becoming the first power, according to estimates by the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
According to figures from the Medical Tourism Association, surgical interventions and medical treatment in Mexico, in specialties such as cardiology, plastic surgery, ophthalmology, dentistry and oncology, among others, are between 40 and 80 percent cheaper than in the American Union, where 80 percent of the tourists who travel to our country for health reasons come from.
Faced with this panorama, Secretary Torruco Marqués assured that there are many opportunities that are opening up to shore up and consolidate Medical Tourism at a global level, so it is necessary to be prepared to take advantage of them.
«Together, owners of clinics and hospitals, insurers, facilitators, hoteliers, government authorities and legislators, we must work so that Medical Tourism continues to be an important window of investment, employment and foreign currency income for the development of tourism activity», external.
For his part, the president of the Mexican Council of the Medical Tourism Industry, Carlos Arceo, commented that the organization he presides over designed a label with national and global criteria called SESA (Epidemiological Security and Environmental Health).
He explained that the tourism trend will be to offer healthy destinations, healthy vacations, healthy stays, healthy rooms, healthy food and healthy tourists.
“México deberá moverse rápido y posicionarse como el destino ideal post coronavirus, implementando permanentemente sistemas y protocolos de Control Epidemiológico y Salud Ambiental”, expresó.
Finalmente, señaló que los empresarios y profesionales del turismo deberán contar con los conocimientos necesarios sobre sistemas epidemiológicos y salud ambiental, para diseñar estrategias de marketing enfocadas al bienestar del turista.
Also participating in the forum were the undersecretaries of Sectur, Humberto Hernández Haddad and Alejandro Aguilera Gómez; the president of the Tourism Commission of the Chamber of Deputies, Luis Alegre Salazar; Nels Anderson, CEO of Fenix Health & Wellness; Enrique Pérez Gras, Executive Director of International Patients at Hospital Austral in Buenos Aires; Óscar Pérez García, president of the Medical Stay Group, from Spain; Pablo Castillo, president of Medbrick, in Canada; María Mercedes Aragón, president of US International VIP Services; and Andrés Jurado Viera, president of My Medical Vacation, from Mexico, among others.
