Although each country can only count the number of true medical tourists, (excluding treatment for holidaymakers, business travellers, expatriate workers and spa/health tourism) each year as a few hundred, both Australia and New Zealand remain hopeful of attracting medical tourists.
Current estimates for New Zealand are around 500 to 700 people a year, mostly from nearby islands with poor medical facilities. The only real attempt at estimating Australian figures came in a report from a now defunct organization that made a rough guess at 7,000 a year, but could neither define what they meant as a medical tourist nor provide any basis for that figure; industry information suggests the real numbers are much lower.
The global recession has hit both countries hopes of attracting medical tourists in real numbers, as their prime target market of the USA has been the worst hit economically. Attempts to build the market are driven in both places by a handful of pioneers and believers, as neither government has shown any inclination to promote or invest in their country as a destination.
In New Zealand, no official body, and few hospitals, have shown any interest in even discussing medical tourism. In Australia, efforts have been driven by Matt Hingerty of the Australian Tourism Export Council, “We have contended for a long time that the service of health is globalising, and if we do not play in that space then we are going to lose our best people offshore.”
Australian health professionals have been one of the loudest critics of medical tourism, with regular protests about the risks of people going to Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand for dental and cosmetic surgery at much less than they pay in Australia. This makes it difficult for any medical professional to support those who now argue that the future for Australian inbound medical tourism is the Asian middle classes seeking elective and cosmetic surgery.
Australia’s pitch to the Asian market is based on promoting superior health care, which is in itself particularly difficult to support in comparison to Singapore and the chance to recuperate on holiday. Australia is more expensive than the Asian countries it wants to attract business from. The Singaporean government has poured large sums into building the infrastructure and marketing medical tourism, the Australian government has not invested in developing an Australian industry.
Another problem for Australia is that one area where is well regarded is cosmetic surgery, is a key market for those very same Asian countries it targets. A recent press report claimed that a leading proponent of medical tourism in Australia believed that Singapore has reached its capacity so Australia should be positioning itself to capture the medical tourists Singapore can no longer accommodate. There is no evidence of capacity problems in Singapore as the country is rebuilding inbound numbers as the global economy recovers.
Australia does have one niche, including in vitro fertilisation (IVF), where it is held in high regard worldwide. Matt Hingerty believes that Australia’s climate and landscape make it an attractive destination, “We have spare capacity in our private health system. We have world-class medical specialists in a range of fields, a clean environment, an open economy, a well-understood legal system and we are a safe destination.”
A medical tourism agency set up to promote New Zealand as a destination for medical tourists is using backing from Sir Stephen Tindall to attract Americans with healthcare prices at what it claims are as little as a third of what they pay in the United States.
Medtral has opened an office in California and began a marketing campaign targeting Americans in search of cheap elective surgery through Auckland-based Ascot Hospital and Clinics. A heart bypass is on offer via Medtral for US$37,000 including flights and insurance, as little as 30 % of the cost of the procedure alone in the United States, according to the firm’s promotional material.
Sir Stephen Tindall bought a 25% stake in Medtral last year via his angel investment company K One W One. Edward Watson of Medtral says, “Stephen Tindall is an investor with a long view. To have any chance in the States, you need a long-term view. We have struggled to get much traction in the United States since launching before the global financial crisis, with the battle compounded by healthcare reforms.
The environment has been extremely difficult – people are switched off and more worried about keeping their own job.” With a new office in California, Medtral is making a new push to attract hundreds of patients to New Zealand, from the current handfuls.
The most it thinks it could cater for is 5,000 a year. Medtral’s California unit, Ascot Hospitals International, offers self-insured American businesses a free review of their elective health benefits packages in a bid to attract patients to New Zealand, and is promising to lock in savings of as much as 40 % for 12 months, including travel and accommodation. Medtral promotes ”High quality, affordable medical tourism and treatment in a first world, English speaking country.”
Source : Treatment Abroad