Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the global economy, including the medical tourism industry. Medical tourism also known as health tourism refers to the practice of traveling to another country for medical care. The industry has grown in recent years due to the availability of high-quality care at lower costs in other countries. However, the Covid-19 pandemic has caused many countries to close their borders and restrict travel, resulting in a significant decline in medical tourism. Additionally, many hospitals have suspended non-essential medical procedures to focus on treating Covid-19 patients thereby significant decline in revenue generation.According to the report by the World Tourism Organization, international tourist arrivals fell by 84% in April 2020 compared to the previous year, which affected medical tourism also. A study by the International Medical Travel Journal found that the number of medical tourists visiting Thailand, a popular destination for medical tourism, decreased by 98% in the first quarter of 2020.Despite the impact of Covid-19 on medical tourism being significant, there is a potential recovery also as many countries begin to ease travel restrictions and more people are vaccinated against Covid-19.Medical tourism looks promising in the future as individual awareness of health and wellness is increasing in addition to the increasing cost of healthcare in many developed countries.