Medical tourism fact sheet

Published estimates of the medical tourism market in 2025 range from US$34 billion to US$172 billion. The spread comes from definitions rather than disagreement about growth: some firms count only treatment revenue in the main destination countries, others add wellness travel or even domestic trips to another city for care. We quote US$76 billion (Global Market Insights) as the headline because it is the median of the nine 2025 estimates below and matches a volume-based estimate from Ken Research: about 17.3 million international patient trips at roughly US$4,400 of medical spending each.

There are many unknowns to calculate or assume when looking at the medical tourism market. What we do know is that a significant majority of travelers will not declare medical interventions as their reason for travel. Different countries add up the numbers differently. Some include health and wellness tourists in this bracket, or even returning expatriates with a right to treatment in their home country.

Earlier figures show how quickly the estimates have moved. In 2015 medical tourism was estimated to generate between U.S. $60 and U.S.$70 billion, and a 2017 Zion Market Research forecast expected only about US$28 billion by 2024, growing at a CAGR of around 8.8%. Forecasts published in 2026 expect the market to reach between US$126 billion and US$293 billion by 2035.

This sector has long been notorious to analyse. If we include not only medical treatments carried out by differing service providers but dental and cosmetic procedures as well, the numbers paint a very different picture. A study published in the American Journal of Medicine estimated the number of medical tourists to all countries in 2017 at 14–16 million; at up to $6,000 per trip, that implied about $72 billion. Newer estimates are larger. Patients Beyond Borders puts the number of cross-border patients at about 21–22 million in 2023, spending an average of US$3,510 per visit including travel and lodging, in a market of US$63–88 billion. Ken Research estimates 17.3 million international patient trips in 2025, up from 6.8 million in 2020, with medical spending of about US$4,399 per trip.

This is no small amount of money and countries in Asia and the Middle East are moving to capitalise on a global business that, even on the narrowest definition, Grand View Research values at US$34.0 billion in 2025. These countries are able to provide the same service at the same quality and safety level due to lower staff pay levels, medical indemnity costs and more. The end price therefore seems greatly reduced to the patient, drawing them from their home country for treatment. This is so lucrative that even American hospitals, such as Harvard, John Hopkins and more have begun founding medical centres and clinics outside of the U.S.

Over the last two decades, medical tourism has gained popularity among highly industrialized countries such as the United States. The number of medical tourists from the United States increased from about 750,000 in 2007, to over 1.4 million a decade later in 2017, and to about 1.8 million in 2023. The CDC says millions of U.S. residents travel internationally for medical care each year.

While exact statistics for medical tourism are difficult to confirm, these estimations indicate a strong potential for medical tourism in the future.

While most would think that medical travelers seek cheap and fast medical attention, some facts in a February 2018 report by PWC regarding medical tourism indicated otherwise. It put the average spending per visit at $3,000–$10,000 and found that the largest group of tourists came from Indonesia, at 600,000 for the year, with the USA in second place with 500,000 going abroad. Indonesia is still the largest source market in Asia: in June 2025 the country's health minister estimated that 1 million to 2 million Indonesians travel abroad for treatment each year, costing about Rp163 trillion (US$10 billion), and the government opened its first health special economic zone, in Sanur, Bali, to keep more patients at home.

A lack of health insurance is the most common factor for medical travel, but the report recognised a patient need for accessibility, experience focused offerings and an increasing desire for high quality care.

• Thailand604,000+international episodes at Bumrungrad, 2025

  Thailand does not publish a single official count of foreign patients. A Department of Health Service Support survey cited by the Ministry of Public Health in September 2026 put private hospitals' revenue from treating foreign patients at about 50 billion baht in 2024. Bangkok's Bumrungrad International Hospital treated over 604,000 international medical episodes from more than 180 countries in 2025, and overseas patients generated 64.8% of its revenue. For comparison, about 2.5 million foreign patients were reported in 2013.

• SingaporeUS$250–270Mmedical tourism revenue, 2023 · RHB estimate

  Singapore received 850,000 medical tourists in 2012 but no longer publishes medical-traveller numbers. RHB analysts put its medical tourism revenue at about US$250–270 million in 2023, and in February 2025 the Ministry of Health told Parliament that Singapore is not aiming to be a hub that actively promotes medical tourism. Lower prices in Malaysia and Thailand have long drawn regional patients away, as a report by RHB Research noted in 2019.

• Latin America~70,000medical tourists a year in Costa Rica · 2026 estimate

  Latin America, particularly Costa Rica and Panama, is popular with North American patients. Costa Rica now receives about 70,000 medical tourists a year, who spend an average of about $6,600 per stay against $1,200 for a typical visitor, according to Central Bank data shared by the Costa Rican Health Chamber in July 2026, up from approximately 40,000 foreign patients in 2011. Panama has no official count of medical visitors.

• Mexico1.3 millionAmericans treated in Mexico, 2024

  Due to its close proximity to the U.S., Mexico is the leading destination for American patients. About 1.3 million Americans travelled to Mexico for medical care in 2024, according to American University's Kogod School of Business. Baja California's health-tourism coordinator said in July 2026 that the state alone receives 2.8–3 million health-tourism patients a year, with about 7,500 people crossing every day. Earlier estimates counted 40,000 to 80,000 American seniors retired in Mexico, many receiving nursing home and health care there.

• Malaysia1.84 millionhealthcare travellers, 2025

  Malaysia recorded 1.84 million international patients and RM3.34 billion in revenue in 2025, up from 1.6 million healthcare travellers and RM2.72 billion in 2024. Indonesia is the largest source market, with 968,000 arrivals in 2025. Malaysia has named 2026 its Year of Medical Tourism and projects revenue of RM7 billion by 2030. That is more than double the 770,134 medical travelers of 2013; in 2016 Malaysia received numerous awards and global recognition from International Medical Travel Journal, including 'Health & Medical Tourism: Destination of the Year'.

• India644,387foreign arrivals for medical purposes, 2024

  India recorded 644,387 foreign tourist arrivals for medical purposes in 2024 and 450,633 in January–November 2025 (provisional), according to the Ministry of Tourism, below the pre-pandemic 697,453 of 2019. It issued 463,724 medical visas in 2024, down from 597,227 in 2023. That compares with 166,000 international patients in 2012 and over 170,000 medical visas awarded in 2016.

• South Korea2.01 millionforeign patients, 2025 · a record

  South Korea received a record 2.01 million foreign patients from 201 countries in 2025, the first year above 2 million and up from 1.17 million in 2024, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Dermatology accounted for over 62% of patients, followed by plastic surgery (11.2%) and internal medicine (9.2%). At the 2016 count, 390,000 people travelled to Korea as medical tourists.

• Turkey1.4 millionhealth tourists, 2025

  Turkey received 1,398,580 health tourists in 2025, generating US$3.02 billion, according to the state health-tourism company USHAŞ. Patient numbers fell from 1,506,442 in 2024 while revenue held steady at about US$3.02 billion.

• United Kingdom523,000visits abroad for treatment, 2024

  UK residents made an estimated 523,000 visits abroad for medical treatment in 2024, up from 431,000 in 2023 and 348,000 in 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics (Great Britain residents; official statistics in development). Complications carry a cost at home: the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons logged 198 patients treated by the NHS after cosmetic surgery abroad in 2022–2024, costing up to £1.8 million, with 76% of complications following surgery in Turkey.

• Spain€86 millionforeign visitors' spend on elective treatment, 2025

  In Spain, demand for medical tourism has grown fastest around Marbella, where over 330 million euros a year were reported to be generated in the province, and the Quirón group has treated up to 20,000 foreign patients a year, mostly from the UK, the Netherlands and Finland. National tourist-spending data (INE's EGATUR survey) show that foreign visitors spent €86.1 million on elective health treatment in Spain in 2025, counting treatment costs only, not accommodation.

• MENA regionUS$585 millionGCC IVF market, 2025

  As fertility decreases in the MENA region the demand for IVF and related services grows. The Gulf (GCC) IVF market alone reached US$585 million in 2025 and is forecast to grow about 15% a year (IMARC). Patients are serviced by Turkey but also increasingly by the United Arab Emirates and Saudi.

While cost is the main driver for medical tourism, in America gaps in or a complete lack of health insurance cause people to seek medical attention elsewhere. Procedures surrounding cosmetics, dentistry, fertility or even weight loss are commonly not viewed upon kindly by insurance companies. The following list of the top American foreign medical procedures will not surprise you as it is populated by these very procedures that have restricted access.

• Dentistry
• Cosmetic surgery
• In vitro fertilization (IVF)
• Weight loss
• Cardiovascular health
• Dermatology
• Liver & kidney transplants
• Spinal surgery

Dental care is the most common form of medical tourism among U.S. residents, according to the CDC Yellow Book, which also lists cosmetic surgery, cancer treatment, fertility treatment and organ transplantation. In South Korea, dermatology accounted for over 62% of foreign patients in 2025.

Americans prefer Mexico, Thailand, Costa Rica, Philippines or Panama for dental services or cosmetic surgeries due to their proximity. Southeast Asia and India are the choice destinations for orthopedic and cardiovascular cases due to the high quality of healthcare, and a significant number of U.S accredited hospitals and physicians.

As people around the world become more familiar with each other, new travel routes open up. The fall of the USSR has brought a swathe of patients in to Poland from the UK and Hungary receives most of its influx from Western Europe. Old ties still prevail however, the UK continues to have close ties with both Spain, Malta and Cyprus for example. While distance to a destination is not the deciding factor in the majority of cases it does protect against volatilities in the market.

Familiarity and cultural similarity is emphasized to try and bring back diaspora. For example Korean health care services to those settled or second generation within the United States, Australia and New Zealand. The colonial past between the UK and India has produced a strong medical skills and treatment exchange between the two countries.

In the Middle East the Dubai HealthCare Committee (DHCC) is attempting to keep medical tourism within the Middle East instead of losing them to cheaper Asian countries. As a result, much like Japan they are focusing on quality and performance rather than price. Dubai attracted 691,478 medical tourists in 2023, up from 674,000 in 2022, with healthcare spending of over AED 1.03 billion (the latest figures published by the Dubai Health Authority).

Satisfied American patients reported gaining savings from 25% to 75% depending on the type of services required and can reach as high as 90%. Savings vary per country and depend on the type of procedure required.

The following are typical prices in USD ($) for common procedures in the U.S. and five leading destinations, from the most recent consistent multi-country comparison we could find, published by MedicalTourism.com (Medical Tourism Association) with prices quoted from 2021:

Prices are as published by the source (2021) and are indicative, not current quotes; no newer consistent comparison across these countries was available for this 2025 update. The Singapore face-lift price is omitted because the source value is clearly in error.

To give an average overview of the savings made for all procedures we have compiled this list from Patients Beyond Borders in the order of least to highest savings. The percentages are the most recent available and calculated in comparison to the average U.S. cost.

As the world of medical tourism grows, so does the appetite for specialist travel insurance. This need stems from the fact that standard travel insurance usually penalizes you for pre-existing conditions and in any case cover for traditional delays and loss of baggage would be void. There now exists insurance products that will cover you in the case of travelling for surgery, and further products that seek to protect you from the cost of complications and repeat operations. If you are considering travel for medical treatment reasons then make sure you seek this type of insurance and double check your cover need with the provider.

Complications are the costly part. A 2026 BMJ Open review of 655 UK patients treated by the NHS after bariatric, cosmetic or eye surgery abroad put the cost of their care at £1,058–£19,549 per patient (very low-certainty evidence), with Turkey the most common destination (61%). The CDC notes that procedure costs abroad are usually paid out of pocket.

These medical tourism facts indicate a bright future for this industry. Forecasts published in 2026 expect the market to grow by roughly 8–23% a year, reaching US$126 billion (Grand View Research) to US$293 billion (Precedence Research) by 2035, and Ken Research expects international patient trips to rise to about 28.1 million by 2031. Treat such forecasts with care: they differ by a factor of five because the firms define the market differently.

Destination governments are investing too. Malaysia has named 2026 its Year of Medical Tourism and projects healthcare-travel revenue of RM7 billion by 2030, while Indonesia opened its first health special economic zone in 2025 to keep patients at home. Employers have long looked abroad as well: Hannaford Bros. Co. in Maine considered saving up to 70% on medical costs by offering offshore medical treatments for its employees, and insurers such as BasicPlus Health Insurance at Roswell have worked with global healthcare companies to provide overseas options to members with maximum fixed benefits.

Although these medical tourism statistics show favorable figures, patients traveling abroad should research facts about the facilities and services regarding U.S. accreditation. Whether you are receiving surgery in the US or abroad, there are always risks involved. Reviewing a doctor's credentials and talking with previous patients is highly recommended when seeking quality healthcare.

As both patients, practitioners and service providers look towards the future a common aim is that of a seamless and reliable experience. Since 1999 the Joint Commission, which is a U.S. governmental body has been expanding overseas. The original purpose of the commission is to ensure the same standards of quality and care are being met across the States. Now its international body, the Joint Commission International (JCI) is seeking out hospitals and clinics which seek to prove their own standard outside of the U.S. Today more than 1,000 health care organizations in over 70 countries hold JCI's Gold Seal of Approval.

This is beneficial for both parties. The expectation of good care abroad comparable to that of domestic medicine is a main concern of medical tourists. With an international standard being followed patients now have less to worry about, including required follow up treatment at home. Clinicians and clinics will have patient data that can be transferred and discussed more easily, and attract lucrative overseas client once the seal of approval has been given by the JCI.