The sector of medical tourism is expected to increase both in size and profits within the next five years. The industry involves not only medical treatment and surgical operations but also rehabilitation, as well as convalescence, and recovery through tourism.

Physicians and experts agree that the highest developing sectors are plastic-cosmetic surgery, cancer treatments, fertility treatments and dental care.

Greece in particular appears to have many advantages, suitable for this type of industry. It has a mild climate, a variety of organised resorts, well-educated human capital and competitive prices in terms of medical fees and hospital expenses. The figures are impressive; a patient who suffered post operative complications following a hip replacement operation spent €400,000 in clinics across Europe, whereas in Greece, the patient’s insurance fund would be charged €45,000. This discrepancy especially applies to cases where the clinic does not have to import specialized medical material [the price of which is high and inflexible] and the cost of treatment is mostly limited to service rendering.

For all these reasons, the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises highlights the benefits from investing in medical tourism. It is estimated that the industry can generate profits worth €2 billion within a decade. In particular, Greece can attract patients originating from Southeast Europe, the Middle East and Arab countries, who would otherwise travel as far as the United States to seek treatment.

On 2 October, Samsung Medison, a subsidiary of the multinational giant, announced that it intends to create a training center in the domain of healthcare equipment in Greece in cooperation with the University of Athens. The center will aim at training doctors and technical experts from Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East in new technologies.