International tourism to Mexico has been increasing consistently
in recent years, reaching double-digit figures
and positioning Mexico
in sixth place internationally.
As for medical tourism, it has
grown organically -
that is, without the existence of
integrated national strategies to attract this type of tourism.
It is estimated that 1.5 m
international medical tourists
came to our country in 2017.
Economically speaking, medical tourism alone
represented an income of $3.5bn in 2017,
and we estimate that, with the right strategies,
this could quadruple by 2030,
to reach $13.8bn.
In recent decades Mexico has been able to develop
a considerable private health care industry
which adheres to international standards,
provides a high-quality service
and also creates opportunities,
not only for professionals
in the medical field
but also for entrepreneurs, investors and even investment funds,
who have not yet fully recognised the opportunity
that medical tourism represents in Mexico.
Geographically, medical tourism has developed
in the border zone, of course,
being part of the bilateral economic flows [with the US].
But it also has developed in coastal centres,
on the Pacific coast and, the Yucatan Peninsula,
and also in some destinations in the country's interior,
particularly the Bajío area and the state of Guanajuato.
However, if we think about the strength of Mexico's medical clusters,
the medical industry and medical expertise,
the leading medical clusters are located, of course,
in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.
There is a vast diversity in treatments
that tourists look for in Mexico.
Some are treatments not regularly-covered
by insurance policies, such as dental treatments,
some ophthalmological treatments
and also plastic or bariatric surgery.
But we have also found that some tourists
come to Mexico in order to have
highly specialised treatments,
such as orthopaedic treatments or cardiovascular surgeries,
where they make considerable savings.
Global trends show that today young people,
millennials, are looking for
much greater access to experiences.
And these experiences can be found in wellness tourism.
They look for wellbeing, yoga, hiking,
some types of spiritual tourism, relaxation, preemptive health care,
they look for treatments that help them to lose weight.
In addition, nowadays, these are high-value services,
but there is not a high level of demand.
At present, there is no support as such for the investments
that are being established in Mexico.
But there is a rising demand
and that is enough incentive to motivate
the private sector to evaluate the possibility
of investing in this particular industry.
The cost of surgical treatments in Mexico
can be 10 times less than in the US.
And that factor is unlikely to disappear in the short term.
The possibility of being certified in processes, reports, studies,
tests and clinical-medical tracking is very relevant.
Therefore, following international rules,
and having in place all of the systems and methods to do so,
is essential if you want to be in this industry,
offering high-value services.
Business people thus face a significant challenge:
to professionalise their services,
to create clusters with other partners,
to offer high-quality aftercare,
to be able to attend patients in different languages,
timely attention.
In the end, patients arriving in Mexico
are looking for an integrated experience.
And that experience is based on three factors.
First, the professionalism with which their case was treated.
Second, the friendliness of the service,
and here, the Mexican experience is very relevant,
precisely because of our tourism offering.
And third, the competitive cost,
that invariably in Mexico is much more representative
than in other places.
We believe this is what makes
this sector of strategic relevance in Mexico.