Medical Tourism in the Philippines - Philippine Institute for ...

Chapter III. Philippine Medical Tourism: Demand AspectsA. Originating Countries of Medical TouristsThe top country-origins of medical tourists in the Philippines are East Asia (China, Japan, Korea,Taiwan), Australia, Americas, Europe/United Kingdom, Gulf States, other Asian countries such as SriLanka, and the Pacific Islands (Guam, Palau, Marshall Islands, and Micronesia). These are based on thedata provided by three local hospitals in the study by BOI TWG (2012),The sources of demand for medical tourists in the Philippines include:a. Filipino balikbayans – residents in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, and other advancedcountries who come home as returning Filipinos. The Department of Foreign Affairs estimatesthat permanent Filipino migrants numbered 4.86 million in 2011. Balikbayans as touristsnumbered 197,824 in 2011, up 100.2 percent from 98,831 in 2001.b. Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) – The Commission on Filipinos Overseas estimated 10.44million OFWs in 2011 19 .c. Foreign medical tourists looking for less expensive medical care for elective procedures andwellness services – There are no reliable data on foreign medical tourists. However, foreignnationals arriving as tourists in the Philippines numbered 3,998,109 in 2010, up 135.5 percentfrom 1,698,062 in 2001 20 .Estimates of medical tourist arrivals vary widely. Youngman (2012) estimated that in 2010,80,000 medical tourists came to the Philippines, but this number includes both balikbayans andforeigners. Renub Research (2012) claims a much higher figure of 100,000 medical tourists in thePhilippines. Medical Tourism (2013) provides a very high approximate of 250,000 non-resident patientsin 2006, but cites 100,000 arrivals for the succeeding years, with little explanation for the decline. Localmedia have variously estimated annual medical tourist arrivals between 60,000 (2007) to 100,000 (2008,2009), although it is not clear where these estimates come from.Citing a 2005 DOT visitor sample survey, DTI (2007) cited 0.4 percent as the proportion oftourists who visited the Philippines for health reasons. This proportion certainly looks low; it may bedue to the way the question was asked, because many medical tourists combine health with otherreasons, e.g., homecoming (OFWs), return (balikbayans), or holiday (most tourists). In addition, it ispossible that non-balikbayan medical tourists will not admit medical tourism as a reason for traveling tothe Philippines for fear that immigration authorities may not approve their entry for health reasons.Using Youngman’s (2012) estimate of medical tourists (80,000) and dividing this by the totalnumber of visitors (foreigners and balikbayans) of 4,195,933 in 2010 yields a proportion of 1.9 percent,19 It is debatable whether OFWs should be included as medical tourists since some analysts regard them as returning residentsof their country of birth and, therefore, not tourists.20 President Aquino has raised the tourist arrivals target (foreigners + balikbayans) for the period up to 2016 to 56.1 million, upfrom the original target of 35.5 million.16