From December to May, the Dominican Republic is in high season for the reception of tourists who choose it as a destination to undergo some kind of medical procedure.
In addition to those who stay overnight in the country just for vacation, this type of tourist spends an average of US$7,500, which includes payment for the procedure, as well as lodging, meals and other activities carried out by patients while they are in the destination, according to estimates by the Dominican Association of Health Tourism (ADTS).
A comparison with the main Latin American destinations in health tourism, included in the second Study and Diagnosis of Health and Wellness Tourism, places the Dominican Republic as the second nation, after Costa Rica, in which international patients spend the most, in a range that oscillates between US$8,500 and US$9,000 on average.
The amount is six to eight times higher than what a traditional tourist consumes in the Dominican Republic, whose spending for just over a week was $1,231.7 approximately in 2023, as indicated by the Central Bank.
“70% (of these tourists) do not travel alone; that generates a greater economic spillover, since a health tourist who is going to have a procedure generally comes accompanied,” specified Amelia Reyes Mora, vice president of the ADTS.
She added that, in addition to the impact, there are the general medical services received by any tourist who may need them during his stay in the Dominican Republic, consuming some 1,200 dollars when attending a health center, an expense that 80% of the tourists pay for through a traveler’s insurance.
Although only 3.7% of the total number of tourists arriving in the country by air in 2022 did so for health reasons, for a total of 262,902 international patients and 75,845 patients who received general medical tourism services, it is estimated that this segment of tourism generated revenues to the country valued at US$1,321 million (72,775 million pesos).
The ADTS projects that health will be the main reason that will mobilize more than half a million tourists to the Dominican Republic by 2028.
Reyes noted that health tourism strengthens confidence in the tourism industry in general, forcing the country to compete internationally with other destinations seeking to capture this segment in terms of quality and price.
“Every time health tourism is strengthened, we are strengthening the reputation and confidence of the Dominican Republic as a destination, an eminently tourist destination,” he stressed.
Source: Arecoa.com
