The private health and wellness facilities are also setting Kenya as one of the main medical tourist destinations in Africa, this is also a new report. The Economic Development in Africa report of 2017 that was released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development is also one of Africa’s top beneficiaries of cross-border travel for medical purposes.
Within the health and wellness sector, the facilities are wooing many of the visitors from the nearby states and helping in boosting the tourism industry. This medical tourism is also marked by African Nationals that seek high-end specialized medical services and primary health care services, increasing in other countries.
Apart from Kenya, Egypt, Mauritius, South Africa, Morocco, as well as Tunisia, are also said to be some of the top destinations for Europeans and Africans that seek these medical services. This report also states that many Europeans come into Africa each and every year seeking low-cost, high-quality specialized medical services and cosmetic as well as reconstructive surgery.
In general, 4 out of 10 international tourists in Africa come from the continent itself, with the estimates suggesting that the intra-regional tourism market segment is growing. The demand by medical tourists for specialized medical care can also stimulate job creation for the highly skilled professionals who also provide the services. The report also shows wellness tourism, travel for the chase of enhancing physical wellbeing, as another growing market segment that has taken root within Africa.
The continent has also experienced a high demand for homeopathic treatments and traditional therapies from international and domestic tourists. It also shows that sub-Saharan Africa is among the fastest-growing markets for wellness tourism, with significant growth in the number of wellness tourists and spa revenues.
This market segment is also increasingly emerging elsewhere on the continent, including in Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, and Kenya. Kenya’s health tourism strategy 2014- 2018 also seeks inbound medical tourism from sub-Saharan Africa. It also aims to increase healthcare services exports “through the provision of high-quality healthcare services and infrastructure.