In general, revenues from either medical services or tourist activities include the costs of services and materials, some of which, especially new drugs and advanced equipment, are imported. The first part estimates the effects of medical tourism on the Thai economy in terms of revenues from medical services and value added gained from the activities of patients and the companions travelling with them before and after medical treatment. in terms of physician time required) usually higher than the mean values obtained for the average foreign patient. It must be borne in mind, however, that the fact that the data for all foreigners are lumped together makes the mean values obtained for the average medical tourist (e.g. Once they fall ill and need health care, they tend to have similar demands and requirements. Another reason that these two groups are usually lumped together is that most foreign patients behave similarly when seeking health care, share similar views regarding patient’s rights, and have similar health-care needs. However, singling out data for medical tourists is difficult because Thailand breaks their data down into Thais and foreigners but not into foreigners who are medical tourists and other foreigners seeking medical care. The final section of the paper discusses policy implications and provides some policy recommendations.

In this paper Thailand is used as a case study to examine the main effects of medical tourism on a country’s economy and health system. Moreover, medical tourists tend to seek more intensive and costly treatments than other foreign patients, as a result of which their effect on the country is more profound. Unlike general tourists and expatriates, medical tourists are increasing at a rapid pace – from almost none to 450 000 a year in less than a decade. 5Īlthough medical tourists are still a small fraction of the 1.5 million foreigners who receive medical care in Thailand, they are the tourist group most likely to affect the country in a major way. This was more than in Singapore, formerly reputed to be the leading Asian medical tourist destination and the “medical hub of Asia”. If we assume that about 30% of all foreign patients that year were medical tourists – a conservative figure by comparison with the Boston Consulting Group’s estimate of 50% in 2006 4 – the total number would have been about 420 000. In 2007, Thailand provided medical services for as many as 1.4 million foreign patients, including medical tourists, general tourists and foreigners working or living in Thailand or its neighbouring countries. These three countries, which combined comprised about 90% of the medical tourism market share in Asia in 2008, 1 have invested heavily in their health-care infrastructures to meet the increased demand for accredited medical care through first-class facilities. In Asia, medical tourism is highest in India, Singapore and Thailand.

It involves about 50 countries in all continents and several Asian countries are clearly in the lead. The medical tourism industry has been growing worldwide. Medical tourism has increased in part because of rising health-care costs in developed countries, cross-border medical training and widespread air travel. Unlike general tourists needing medical attention, medical tourists are people who cross international borders for the exclusive purpose of obtaining medical services.

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