Home Headlines Medical tourism emerges as economic engine for Yucatan

Medical tourism emerges as economic engine for Yucatan

by Yucatan Times
1 comment

Medical tourism is developing into an important economic engine in Yucatan, and three experts on this phenomenon participated in a discussion Thursday June 30 in Merida.

The participants were Dr. José Enrique Guerra, a leading medical facilitator and owner of Yucatan Medical Services, Irak Greene, director of tourism business development with Yucatan’s Secretariat of Tourism Development (SEFOTUR), and José Urioste, editorial director of The Yucatan Times.

Attending the event at Hennessey’s Irish Pub on Paseo de Montejo were about 20 local medical doctors and dentists, including surgeons, opthamologists and other specialists.

Irak Greene of SEFOTUR (PHOTO: Brenda Carrion)
José Urioste of The Yucatan Times. (PHOTO: Brenda Carrion)
Dr. José Enrique Guerra. (PHOTO: Brenda Carrion)

Greene noted that about 7 million people travel annually outside their home country for medical treatment. For residents of the U.S. and Canada, Mexico is the leading destination, mainly because treatments are cheaper. For U.S. residents, the costs average 30 percent less than in their home country, he said.

Greene said SEFOTUR’s dedicated medical tourism website, yucatanhealthcare.com, has received more than 20 million visits, with 70 percent of visitors seeking information in English.

Guerra said Yucatan Medical Services, now in its fourth year, has helped more than 200 foreign patients find and arrange medical treatment in Yucatan. Offering “medical concierge” services, YMS provides 24-hour on-call referalls to a private network of medical and dental specialists.

Urioste said since he took over the The Yucatan Times four years ago, he has studied the shift of migration patterns between Mexico and its northern neighbors, with many U.S. and Canadian citizens now migrating south to become temporary or permanent residents of Mexico.

Greene said The Yucatan Times, the leading English language news website covering the Peninsula, has become an important partner for SEFOTUR in promoting medical tourism, through its news coverage and advertorial articles on the subject.

By Robert Adams for TYT

You may also like

1 comment

Sumit July 4, 2016 - 5:41 am

More discussion should be encouraged regarding medical tourism as it will help the medical industry to adapt itself to needs of the medical tourists.
Sumit
http://www.mymedicaltrek.com

Reply

Leave a Comment

Our Company

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consect etur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis.

Newsletter

Laest News

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept

Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?
-
00:00
00:00
Update Required Flash plugin
-
00:00
00:00