Trends in Medical Tourism & Spas

David G. Vequist IV, Ph.D.Founder/Director

Center for Medical Tourism Research

www.medicaltourismresearch.org

Agenda

• Trends in Medical Tourism• Trends in Spas• Synergies and Hybrids• What’s Next• Summary and Conclusions

Trends in Medical Tourism

• Customers/patients increasing in their understanding of the market and services

• Price and quality will continue to be a factor• Competition is heating up• Regions, countries, and providers are realizing

their ‘core competencies’• Look for an increase in specialization and

niche markets

Trends in Medical Tourism (1)• Customers/patients increasing in their understanding of

the market and services– Pew Institute (from 2006), 80% of American internet users, or

some 113 million adults, have searched for information on a health topics

– Most people start at a general search engine (such as Google or Yahoo) when researching health and medical advice online.

– Almost 75% of health searchers say they check the source and date “only sometimes,” “hardly ever,” or “never,” which means that about 85 million Americans annually gather health advice online without consistently examining the quality indicators of the information

– Overall, it seems that most health seekers are pleased about what they find online, but some are frustrated or confused

Trends in Medical Tourism (2)• Price and quality will continue to be a factor

– According to a D&T Survey in 2008- Consumers are willing to travel to obtain care that is both safe and less costly. In fact, about 40% of survey respondents said they would be interested in pursuing treatment abroad if quality was comparable and the savings were 50% or more

Trends in Medical Tourism (3)• Competition is heating up

– There are over 30 countries vying for market share currently and could be up to 300 JCI-accredited facilities in the next few years

– The competition in this market is increasing every single day (as of this week, there are an estimated 1,400 hits off of Google for the term “medical tourism facilitators”)

– Many facilitators are trying to differentiate themselves through certification (and other techniques) see http://www.medicaltourismassociation.com/medical-travel-facilitators.html.

Trends in Medical Tourism (4)

• Regions, countries, and providers are realizing their ‘core competencies’– Malaysia’s Prince Court Medical Centre Chief

Executive Officer Stuart D. Rowley has said:• “(JCI) accreditation would serve as a competitive edge

against other private hospitals in Malaysia to further penetrate the health industry market”

• “We are targeting the Asian region, Middle East and there are a lot of existing demand coming from Australia and New Zealand for medical tourism”

• They had a 16% increase in the number of medical tourists in 2009, currently, international patients contribute 30% to its business and locals 70%.

Trends in Medical Tourism (5)• Look for an increase in specialization and niche

markets– Malaysia:

• Arab market

– El Salvador:• Dental

– Mexico:• Hispanic (particularly the Mexican-American market)

– Turkey:• Hair Transplants/Stem Cell Therapy

– Korea:• Surgery

– Philippines• Dispora/Culture of Caring

Trends in Spas

• Continued pressures on pricing of services• Competition is heating up (particularly

internationally)• CAM, nutrition, wellness, and elder services

are increasing• More synergies between medical, hospitality,

and spa services• Customers/patients increasingly going to be

confused about the market and services

Trends in Spas (1)

• Continued pressures on pricing of services– Restaurants & Institutions, 9/1/2007:

• The mainstreaming of affluence has turned the consumer marketplace on its head. People expect not only to be able to get the very best, but also to get it at the very best price—no more trade-offs between price and quality.

• Rising affluence creates greater—not lesser—difficulty in charging higher prices. Pricing pressures become fiercer in a marketplace of greater affluence.

• Affluence doesn’t mean that consumers have money to burn, but it does mean that consumers are demanding even more value before they will pay extra for something.

• The old sources of value have become cost-of-entry.

Trends in Spas (2)• Competition is heating up (particularly internationally)

– The Business Times, Oct 19, 2008: Spa Association Singapore (SAS) has seen a year-on-year 20% increase in the number of spas

– A recent survey conducted by Intelligent Spas, a local market research company, has shown that more than 100 spa owners are predicting positive growth for this year and next.

– Since the beginning of April 2007, there has been a 6% increase in the number of spas, according to the newly published 2008 State of the UK Spa Industry Report

– According to the International Spa Association. As of June 2007, the most recent numbers available, there were 18,100 spas in the United States, compared with 14,600 the year before

Trends in Spas (3a)• CAM, nutrition, wellness, and elder services are

increasing– In 2007, a 44-question survey was sent to hospitals, 748

responded and 37 of those stating that they offered CAM services (20.2%).

– The key reasons hospitals gave for including CAM services were patient demand (84 percent), clinical effectiveness (67 percent), and consistency with organizational mission (57 percent).

– All 18 hospitals recently named by U.S. News as "America's Best Hospitals" provide some type of CAM services.

– 19.8 percent offered CAM in 2006, according to the American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey of Hospitals.

Trends in Spas (3b)• CAM, nutrition, wellness, and elder services are

increasing– 2007 National Health Interview Survey of 23,000 adults and

9,500 children, found that about 38% of adults use CAM and about 12% of children, ages 17 and under. The most common CAM therapies are:

• Natural products that are not vitamins or minerals. The most common of these were fish oil/omega-3/DHA; glucosamine, echinacea, flaxseed oil or pills and ginseng -- 17%.

• Deep breathing -- 12% • Meditation -- 9% • Chiropractic -- 8% • Massage -- 8% • Others: yoga, 6%; diet-based therapies, 3%; progressive relaxation, 2%;

guided imagery, 2%, homeopathic treatment, 1%.

Trends in Spas (3c)• CAM, nutrition, wellness, and elder services are

increasing

Trends in Spas (4a)• More synergies between medical, hospitality, and spa

services– “A merging of medicine and spas: Market is booming for hybrid

enterprises that offer almost any cosmetic procedure except for surgery” Tribune Business News, Apr 2, 2007:

– Medispas satisfy the public's growing desire to do what it takes to look younger, preferably in posh surroundings. They also fulfill the desires of doctors who want to enhance their incomes with high- profit cosmetic procedures that don't involve dealings with insurance companies.

– The idea emerged around 2002, there were 25 medispas nationwide- now, according to the International Medical Spa Association there are more than 2,000

Trends in Spas (4b)• More synergies between medical, hospitality, and spa

services– Mississippi Business Journal Oct 27, 2008:

There has been a recent trend towards "medispas," some of which provide cosmetic treatment such as Botox injections or glycolic peels to reduce wrinkles.

– “SAY WHAT?!?” Marketing, Jan 12, 2009:As the popularity of medispas (spas that offer typical services alongside cosmetic procedures) grow so will this science

– in 2007, the number of surgical and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures performed on women topped 10.6 million, according to the American Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.

Trends in Spas (4c)

• More synergies between medical, hospitality, and spa services– 2008 American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery:

• About 30% of women ages 18-64 heard of the term medispa prior to receiving the survey.

• About 5% of women ages 18-64 have had a non-invasive cosmetic procedure performed at a medispa;

• Among women treated for a non-invasive cosmetic procedures at a medispa, just less than three-quarters (74.1%) had visited a medispa in the last year.

• The top three most popular non-invasive cosmetic procedures performed at medispas were laser hair removal, chemical peel(s) and microdermabrasion.

Trends in Spas (4d)• More synergies between medical, hospitality, and spa

services– Minority women were more than twice as likely as white women to

have had a non-invasive cosmetic surgery procedure performed at a medispa.

– Women ages 18-34 were more than three times as likely as women ages 35-64 to have had a non-invasive cosmetic procedure performed at a medispa.

– Women ages 18-34 were about 1.7 times as likely as women ages 35-64 to report a favorable impression of medispas.

– Women with a household income of $100,000 per year or more were 1.8 times as likely to have ever had a noninvasive cosmetic surgery procedure performed at a medispa

Trends in Spas (4e)• More synergies between medical, hospitality, and spa

services

Trends in Spas (5)• Customers/patients increasingly going to be confused about

the market and services– Mississippi Business Journal Oct 27, 2008 - Medispas don't have same

responsibility in advertising as board-trained plastic surgeons. So it is possible that advertising can exaggerate the positive benefits of treatment. Safety can also be an issue. Some of the treatments offered are not proven. A spa might tout technologies that are untested and of dubious quality.

– “What consumers want in health care” McKinsey Quarterly, June 2008- Faced with health care decisions, consumers are concerned, confused, and unprepared. They rely heavily on personal recommendations and brand recognition.

– As the industry shifts from a wholesale to a retail model, a new market of consumers is demanding clearer information and personalized support. A company that pays careful attention to their needs, desires, and habits stands to gain a significant advantage over its competitors in this quickly burgeoning market.

Synergies and Hybrids

• Hospitals/clinics are looking more like hotels• Hotels have been looking more like resorts• Resorts have been looking more like spas

So, where are we going with this?

• Hybrids with synergistic services…

What’s Next

• Retirement services combine with the hybrids• Niche markets for hybrids• Different payment systems/methods• Increasingly aging and less affluent customers• More and more value-added services• Restaurants/casinos play more of a role-

– Even more hybridization?

• Other

Summary and Conclusion• “It almost goes without saying that today’s baby boomers

are also driving a new industry associated with spas and anti-aging services. Couple these trends with sports and fitness related activities and events that attract almost all age groups and you get a host of health and wellness related economic and social opportunities.” Canmore’s Health and Wellness Sector ProfileMarch 7, 2008

• Thank you for your attention!

vequist@uiwtx.edu