SAN DIEGO Baja California has emerged as a significant player in the medical tourism sector, attracting 3.5 million international visitors last year seeking medical and dental care. This influx of patients has injected a substantial $2 billion into the state’s economy, underscoring Baja California’s growing prominence in the global healthcare market.
Despite these impressive figures, Ricardo Vega Montiel, president of the Baja Plastic, Aesthetic, and Reconstructive Surgery College, believes there’s still ample opportunity for growth. “While the numbers are promising, we must strive to elevate our standards and broaden our reach to capture a larger share of the market,” Vega Montiel emphasized.
The state’s medical and dental services are becoming increasingly popular among foreign visitors due to high-quality care at competitive prices. However, Vega Montiel’s call for improvement highlights the ongoing need for enhanced infrastructure and services to further solidify Baja California’s position as a leading destination for medical tourism.
As the sector continues to grow, the focus will likely remain on expanding service offerings and maintaining high standards to attract even more international patients in the future.
“Considering everything that’s going on, these external factors are having a negative impact,” he said, referring to the ongoing violence in cities such as Tijuana and reports of illegal work being done by unlicensed doctors and clinics throughout the state, which keep many woud-be patients away.
“We’re actually in a very tranquil state with calm waters right now,” Vega Montiel said. “In spite of the adversities, medical tourism remains strong in Baja California compared to other economic sectors such as hotels, restaurants, tourist-oriented businesses.”
“This drive was started seven years ago with great success, but now it’s stalled,” he said. “Tijuana remains in chaos, people don’t know where to go, the GPS systems don’t work because the streets aren’t logged properly, this all has to change — we could be doing so much better as a city and as an industry.”
