"Pandemics top national risk-management frameworks in many countries and each outbreak of a potentially dangerous infection prompts authorities to ask a rational set of questions and dust off the menu of response options that can be implemented as needed in a phased manner. Reality is generally more disruptive, as national governments and supranational agencies balance health security, economic and social imperatives on the back of imperfect and evolving intelligence. It is a governance challenge that may result in long-term consequences for communities and businesses.”
While the virus is deadly for some, many who have it experience mild symptoms or no symptoms at all, making it much harder to detect and contain. More than 100 governments have responded by banning entry to travellers who have been to affected regions, barring flights to certain countries and changing visa requirements, and others have recommended that no citizens travel to another country.
The restrictions and virus fears have hit tourism hard, and medical tourism is expected to be hit the hardest in Asian and Europe Countries.
While many hospitals and clinics will have more income and more customers locally, those heavily dependent on medical tourism may struggle or even close if finances are already tight. Small medical tourism agencies will lose business and may not reopen. Many hospitals will simply now not have spare capacity for medical tourists.
Thailand Medical Tourism
Medical tourism is one of the main sectors driving the Thai economy. To support the national transformation into an advanced economy driven by science, technology, and innovation, the government unveiled an ambitious 20-year strategy – Thailand 4.0 – in May 2016. Under the strategy, the Thai government identified a need to help the country become a hub of wellness and medical services within a ten-year time frame.
Pandemics have nothing to do with the severity of a disease but are to do with its geographic spread. A pandemic is declared when a new disease for which people do not have immunity spreads around the world beyond expectations. Once a pandemic is declared, it becomes more likely that community spread will eventually happen, and governments and health systems need to ensure they are prepared for that.
The ban on inbound tourism has hit Bumrungrad International Hospital. Before the pandemic, a large proportion of their revenue comes from the more than 50% of patients who are overseas medical tourists. Ian Youngman looks into the future for medical travel to Thailand.
The Thai Tourism Board is preparing to launch a "We Love Thailand" campaign to boost domestic tourism, in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Authority of Thailand.
The one or two year campaign will help the industry until the market regains the confidence of foreign tourists. Initially, visitors from China, South Korea and Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) are expected to return to Thailand.
As the coronavirus outbreak added strains to frontline health services and back-end supply chains, Thailand’s Board of Investment announced additional measures in April to accelerate investments in the manufacture of medical equipment, which could have positive implications for the health sector’s broader strategic goals.
From May 3, small retailers, street food vendors, restaurants outside malls, parks and outdoor sports venues have been permitted to reopen as policymakers look to kick-start economic activity that has been curtailed by lockdown measures.
European Medical Tourism
While European/Asian country Turkey has stolen a march on competition by opening to medical tourists, reports of other countries opening borders are confusing. The headlines of “open borders” differ from the reality that most are only open to workers and essential travel, but not tourism.
The European Commission (EC) has recently presented a detailed package of guidelines and recommendations to help member countries (but not the UK) gradually lift travel restrictions and allow tourism businesses to reopen.
As soon as the health situation allows, people should be able to catch up with friends and family, in their own EU country or across borders, with the safety and precautionary measures needed in place. The package aims to help the EU tourism sector recover from the pandemic, by supporting businesses and ensuring that Europe continues to be the number one destination for visitors.
COVID-19 is directly or indirectly affecting every medical tourism destination. This is the time to make different plans to attract international patients. The natural reaction for countries, healthcare providers and medical tourism businesses is to wait out events, until they return to normal. But expecting the flow of medical travellers to return to where it was before may be a major strategic and tactical mistake.
Plan for the future
This is now the time to plan for the future. You could do nothing and lock down the hatches and when things get back to normal, carry on as before. Or you could take time out, away from daily life, to make plans for how you can encourage your country, organisation, agency, or healthcare provider to get medical travellers to come to you in 2021/22, both new and existing customers.
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