Medical Tourism Revenue Surges in South Korea

 

Foreign patients visited Korea in the first six months of 2009 spent slightly above US$ 60 Million on treatments, as reported by The Chosun IIbo. The Bank of Korea has claimed that the healthcare revenue surged 29% between January and September 2009 from the corresponding period a year ago (January-September 2008).

 

With the improvement of medical treatment and depreciation of the Korean won against other currencies in early 2009, medical tourism has significantly increased in Korea. Besides, low cost of treatment contributed to attract foreign patients.

 

As per the Korea Academy of Medical Science (KAMS), the medical technology in the field of dentistry and cosmetic surgery is at par with the US standards whereas the medical fee in Korea much lower than the US, Japan and China. Fee for a particular treatment rated at 100 while it was at 338 in the US, 147 in Japan and 167 in China.

 

Contribution of hospitals at their level could not be discarded although price advantage definitely works as an asset for the medical tourism industry. They (hospitals) make strategies to create a customer friendly environment so that foreign patients keep knocking at the Korean door.

 

It is quite important to understand the fact that South Korea has been striving to evolve as the top destination for tourists among the Arabian Gulf states. 277 hospitals and clinics in South Korea have shown interest in the treatment of Kuwaiti patients. The number of foreign tourists coming for treatment in the country is projected to touch the figure of 50,000 by the end of 2009 from 40,000 in 2008.

 

According to a market research “Emerging Medical Tourism in South Korea” by RNCOS, It is anticipated that the medical tourist arrivals in South Korea will rise at a CAGR of nearly 42% during 2009-2012.

 

The Government of South Korea has given medical tourism industry the status of next generation growth engine. Governments at the local level have planned to build infrastructure of healthcare clusters for medical tourism in the country.

 

According to a Research Analyst at RNCOS, “As medical tourism industry is seen with a lot of expectations, local governments are all set to nurture it as the next generation growth engine. Moreover, it is believed that the Korean medical tourism will grow at much faster rate than the rest of the world in coming years.”