The number of health travelers from the United States who visit Costa Rica for medical and dental procedures could double by the end of this decade. Such was the forecast recently broadcast by national television network Teletica in a report by Adrian Fallas.
In 2015, Costa Rica welcomed about 50,000 medical and dental tourists; this figure was reported by ProMed, an organization that seeks to promote health travel to Costa Rica. According to ProMed, the majority of visitors came from the U.S., and they spent $338 million during their stay.
The growth rate of medical tourism in Costa Rica is currently at 20%. The average stay lasts one week, and health tourists can spend $7,000 on average; this includes their procedures as well as their lodging and recreational activities.
Although other destinations in the Americas seek to compete against Costa Rica in terms of medical tourism, the country is well positioned to retain its market leader status thanks to quality of care. A good way to measure the satisfaction of medical and dental tourists in Costa Rica is by their testimonials.
As long as medical and dental tourism clinics and hospitals in Costa Rica continue to provide quality of care that elicits testimonials such as the one above, Costa Rica will continue to hold the lion’s share of this market.
