Medical Tourism in Developing Countries

54 ● Medical Tourism in Developing CountriesIn the United States there are 80 million baby boomers who are aging and,given their dispositions, will go to great lengths to retain their health. Peoplewith discretionary income living in MDCs have the necessary prerequisiteto demand medical tourism. This demand is likely to grow since the cohortwill grow. The population of the more developed countries is living longeras life expectancies are steadily inching upwards. People live in retirementfor longer and barring any policy changes in the retirement age, they arelikely to continue to do so. When longevity and retirement are crossed, theresult is more travel, more medical care, and more medical tourism.The positive relationship between income and tourism extends also tothe tourist’s country of origin. Quantity of travel and income per capitaare positively correlated with GNP (although not perfectly, because thepropensity to travel depends also on other factors 54 ) because travel requiresincome in excess of subsistence, a condition more prevalent in high-incomecountries (indeed, more than 90 percent of world tourism originates inMDCs 55 ). This has implications for medical tourism. The most affluent inWestern countries still pay for their treatments close to home or travel tothe United States, Canada, and the UK; the most affluent in developingcountries are still willing to pay a lot and travel to the United States andUK, or even Australia and Singapore. It is the second tier of wealthypatients that travels to destination LDCs with superior health care. Luxurymedicine is also purchased by middle-income populations from LDCs whocan’t afford to go to the West and have no medical care in their owncountries.TasteIn order to travel abroad for medical services, whether bypass surgery ortraditional healing, one has to like to travel. Some people simply do notlike flying, or disrupting their routine, or living out of a suitcase. Despitewhat they have heard and read, they distrust LDC doctors and facilities.They want to be close to friends and family when hospitalized. By contrast,others are attracted to the exotic and they have an inclination to travel, clearideas as to where they want to go, and what they want to do once they getthere. From the study of travel patterns and modes of traveling by geographersand psychologists, and from economic analyses of tourist motivations,56 it is clear that variations in taste make travel very complex. Peoplewant to consume medical tourism because their taste makes them soinclined. Several aspects of taste are relevant in this discussion.Some consumers desire privacy, and having medical treatment abroad satisfiesthis need. They are not tracked in any way and if they choose to havea secret procedure, they are confident it will remain so. Such a consumer can