Health Tourism Hub

Irving Stackpole speaks to experts about the myths and realities behind the post-pandemic boom in medical tourism, exposing inflated claims, fuzzy definitions, and the need for data-driven realism in a fragmented global market Medical tourism is again being celebrated post-Covid-19 as a “booming industry”, promoted with breathtaking numbers that promise massive economic benefit. However, behind […]

The cross-border trade in wellness, health, and medical services has evolved from a niche market into a global phenomenon. With the global markets projected to reach $87.33 billion by 2030, understanding how to effectively market different segments within this expansive ecosystem has become crucial for providers, destinations, and intermediaries alike. Drawing insights from decades of […]

The chronology of the Indian government’s marketing communications rhetoric about medical services exports (commonly referred to as “medical tourism”) from 1990 to 2024 reveals a clear evolution from basic economic liberalization to global leadership positioning. These marketing messages have progressed through distinct phases, consistently emphasizing cost advantages, quality claims, and international competitiveness. It has also […]

In the global health tourism marketplace, reputation is everything. Patients crossing borders for medical care or wellness services face unique risks—unfamiliar regulations, cultural differences, and concerns about continuity of care. What reassures them? Trust. Trust is the currency in health and medical tourism. For executives, investing in credibility, transparency, and patient experience isn’t just a […]

Building Resilience and Global Relevance for U.S. Healthcare As the global health landscape grows increasingly complex, U.S. hospitals face new pressures that extend far beyond patient mobility. Domestic policy shifts, funding uncertainty, and geopolitical volatility are reshaping the context in which U.S. providers engage internationally. Recent reductions in federal research funding—particularly through the NIH— have […]

From Travelers to Partners: Redefining Global Health Strategy For decades, U.S. hospitals equated international patient programs with medical tourism—a model centered on facilitating the travel, treatment, and return of individual patients. This transactional approach once delivered strong margins and global prestige. But as international mobility slows and competition intensifies, it’s no longer sufficient. To remain […]

How Global Research Models Point the Way Forward for U.S. Hospitals As U.S. hospitals rethink their dependence on traditional medical tourism, one proven model for sustainable international engagement already exists—multi-country clinical trials. These large-scale, collaborative studies demonstrate how institutions can participate in global health markets without relying solely on patient travel. Clinical Trials as a […]

Redefining Global Health Engagement for U.S. Providers When most people think about medical tourism, they picture patients boarding planes to receive care in another country. But in the global trade of health services, this is only part of the picture. Under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS), cross-border healthcare activity is defined through […]

Why U.S. Hospitals Must Evolve Beyond the Old International Patient Model For decades, U.S. hospitals viewed international patient programs as a threefold opportunity—boosting revenue, reputation, and research. By attracting patients from around the world for high-end specialty care, they not only generated income but also reinforced their global prestige and advanced clinical experience. However, recent […]

Rethinking America’s Role in Global Health Services Trade In the world of global healthcare services, Mode 2 exports—the cross-border flow of patients traveling abroad for care—have long defined the United States’ approach to international health engagement. Commonly referred to as medical tourism, this model centered on attracting high-value foreign patients to U.S. hospitals and specialty […]

The global landscape of health tourism continues to evolve rapidly. For executives, staying ahead means understanding not only where patients are traveling, but also the motivations driving them. A crucial distinction lies between medical tourism—patients traveling for essential or elective medical treatment—and wellness tourism—travelers seeking preventive care, rejuvenation, or holistic wellbeing. While the two often […]

The integration of advanced technologies into the travel insurance markets is producing a dynamic, changing landscape of innovation and ethical complexity. Large language models (LLMs) and artificial intelligence (AI) are reshaping sales and marketing, risk assessment, claims processing, and customer engagement, while simultaneously raising critical questions about ethics, equity, and accountability. Whether this represents creative […]

On TRT World’s Roundtable, Irving Stackpole joins experts from King’s College London and Cellcolabs to explore the risks, hopes, and hype around regenerative treatment and medical travel. 📺 Watch the full discussion with Enda Brady on TRT World . #StemCells #MedicalTourism #RegenerativeMedicine #TRTWorld #Roundtable

Hospitals & Healthcare 3 Feb 2025|Irving Stackpole Featured in Hospitals & Healthcare Review | February 2025 Irving Stackpole uncovers how artificial intelligence is transforming the way patients interact with healthcare providers, and how insurance companies can capitalise on new technology. Unstoppable economic forces are pushing us toward collisions in travel, medical travel and the insurance […]

President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders and policy changes are poised to have a significant impact on medical travel—both into and out of the United States. In our recent webinar, US Medical Travel 2025 & Beyond: The Trump Effect, Elizabeth Ziemba and I explored the shifting landscape and what these changes mean for patients, providers, […]

For those who couldn’t attend, we’ve got you covered! Please find the webinar recording here. If you’d like a PDF copy of the presentation, please contact us here. During the session, we explored how US and global trends, economic forces, and evolving policies will shape medical tourism and healthcare over the coming years. From the […]

Establishing an international patient services department in a hospital is difficult work and requires thoughtful planning and execution about why, what, who, and how.  Health tourism, medical tourism, medical travelers The immediate answer to the question, “Why establish an international patient service?” is to serve foreign patients more effectively and efficiently. Medical travelers and health […]

January 22, 2025, at 12 noon EST, 5:00 PM WET. US and Global Medical Tourism 2025 & Beyond: The “Trump Effect” Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_nnPLWlxnSquwxetsArXXoA#/registration    The US is an important actor in the global markets for medical tourism and cross-border trade in medical services. What will be the “Trump Effect” for the next four years […]

Artificial intelligence’s (AI) influence on medical travel is reshaping how patients find, evaluate, and receive care abroad, offering promising advancesin both the efficiency and quality of health services. Let’s take a look at  AI Enhancements in Medical Travel 1. Personalized Recommendations and Decision-Making AI algorithms are revolutionizing the way patients select healthcare providers. By analyzing […]

Dear Mr. Irving, can you please take our readers on a special tour through your professional career? My healthcare career began in Boston, Massachusetts, at the New England Baptist Hospital and then the Massachusetts General Hospital. I was very fortunate to be involved in the early stages of a new technology in healthcare (respiratory therapy) […]

Health motivations of some type have always influenced travel, whether the traveler’s destination is domestic or international. Cities, whole regions, and countries may want to enter the international health tourism market, as well as individual health and medical providers. Marketers target a wide range of segments through a variety of channels, such as business-to-business, business-to-consumer, […]

Health tourism providers do not operate in isolation. Of necessity, they work closely with a wide array of partners and organizations such as hotels, transport services, food and beverage outlets, cultural attractions and events, and much more. Health tourism requires cooperation at various levels: At the local level, service providers such as hospitals, clinics, spas, […]

My colleague, Arlen Myers recently wrote in his blog, “When will medical tourism get real traction?” As always, Dr. Myers makes thoughtful observations and suggestions. The typical dynamics of market lifecycles suggests that for significant adoption (“traction”), a new product or service must “cross the chasm” between early adoption and mainstream acceptance. This market lifecycle […]

“If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there.” – LEWIS CARROLL __________________________________________________________________ Branding in health tourism, as in every business, is extremely important. Unclear or poorly thought out branding limits success and may lead to failure. Carefully planned and well-executed branding are critical ingredients to success. Effective branding will help […]

Improve your competitive position in the medical travel and health tourism markets through perceptual mapping

This is a continuation of an earlier article Pricing Your Services in Health Tourism, PT 1. PRICE AND VALUE IN HEALTH TOURISM Price and value are different, and each is important for pricing your health tourism services. Value is the benefit of goods or services derived by purchasers. If your customers are purchasing a week […]

Price influences who buys and how much of a service is consumed. In general, when services are very inexpensive, we expect that more people will purchase them, and when services are very expensive, they are considered exclusive and fewer people purchase them. This rule also applies in health-related services as well as in dental and […]

Marketing and selling services are very different from physical products. This statement is especially true for services targeting the physical health or well-being of your customers. Health tourism offerings are based mainly on highly subjective, intangible features and benefits, which are personal to every individual. Guests or patients may be very sensitive to the details […]

Looking further around the corner, at the future of US hospital exports, or the treatment of foreign patients in American hospitals, what do we see? Turmoil in the domestic markets, shifting and contracting supply, and extreme intermediation – to name but a few. International Patient Services departments need to focus on three things, and three […]

When planning, developing, or refining your health tourism offer, the message that you will communicate to your audiences – internal and external – will be critical to your success, the business, and the destination’s sustainability. You will devote time, energy, and money to growing your business, so your messages demand careful consideration. Above all, make […]

Sometimes bad things happen. For your service organization, the bad event can range from a poor service experience to serious injury and even death. And sometimes bad events are outside of your control: global pandemic, natural disasters, conflict, or war. How brand managers respond to these situations makes an enormous, even existential difference. Brand recovery, […]

In the ever-evolving landscape of healthcare, the demand for seamless transitions of care remains paramount. To illuminate this critical aspect of patient care, Stackpole & Associates with Project Red Solutions,  hosted an enlightening webinar,  “A New Standard of Practice in Discharge & Transitions of Care,” featuring the esteemed Dr. Brian Jack, founder of Project RED […]

In our recent article, What’s Your Health Tourism Brand? we talked about the importance of building your brand in health tourism. So, let’s delve into the steps you can take as you approach developing your health tourism brand.  Here are a few, simple steps to branding. RESEARCH.  Find out what your brand position is, and […]

Building a brand in health tourism, as in every business, is extremely important. Unclear or poorly considered branding limits success and may lead to failure. Carefully planned and well-executed branding is a critical ingredient to success. Effective branding will help to generate leads, create preference for your destination or your organization, and will help ensure […]

In Health and Medical Tourism, your offer is the reason customers purchase and use your service, and the benefit they derive. To support and sustain current business, as well as to attract new customers, it is important to clearly define your offer, and understand how this meets your customers’ needs. This connection between your services […]

Almost as soon as the travel markets rebounded from the pandemic closures, alleged marketing mavens and carnival barkers began to promote reports, events, certificates and a host of other “medical tourism” market-related products & services designed to separate you from your money. And yet, many otherwise sensible people in organizations around the world latch onto […]

As we see the medical, travel and health tourism markets begin to recover, we are seeing a growing surge of publications, communications, webinars and other information about these markets. I was just on a webinar recently where the presenter was talking about the importance of building trust in the “medical tourism” markets. Well, it’s important […]

PLANNING FOR HEALTH TOURISM: FROM WHAT “SOURCE LOCATIONS” DO CUSTOMERS NOW TRAVEL TO MY DESTINATION? Read Part 1 Give careful thought to travelers to your area who are arriving for leisure, recreation, business, or family visits. These potential travelers could be familiar with your area and are often predisposed to consider additional services including wellness, […]

Irving Stackpole RRT, MEd | published in Omnia Health |Jun 08, 2023 Research shows that improving transitions of care significantly reduces hospital readmissions and improves outcomes. People enjoy travelling to explore destinations or visit friends and relatives. Healthy travellers may catch a cold or acquire an infection. Most often, these travel-related illnesses are not serious. […]

Join us at the International Health Insurance Forum, Panama City, May 29-31 – Insuring a vibrant LATAM health sector  Latin American Healthcare & the Role of Private Medical Insurance  Private medical insurance plays a significant role in the healthcare delivery systems of developed and developing economies. It bears an important proportion of the medical risk, […]

The answer to this crucial question is at the center of the future success of your organization:  Who are the audiences for the services you plan to offer? Individuals – and even organizations – make choices about where to go, which providers to use, and what services to consume based on their highly individual motivations, […]

Thank you to Grace Hauck and Ken Alltucker for interviewing me for the USAToday article “Why do people in the U.S. cross the border into Mexico for health care?” Consumers should ask clinics or doctors how often they have done particular procedures and ask to speak with patients who have used the clinic before. “Consumers […]

Health Tourism connects traveling with the additional purposes and benefits of healing, health, wellness, and well-being. Tourism, travel, and vacations have always been about relaxation, regeneration, escape, or indulgence. Traveling and tourism activities contribute to the general well-being of the travelers. When people travel for the primary purpose of receiving treatments and services to help […]

The International Health Travel Forum in Amman, Jordan #IHTF2022 was an excellent setting to review the key points of “How to Excel as a Health & Medical Tourism Destination.” Context / Framework The place to start, of course, is by defining the framework or context for these markets. The General Agreement on Trade in Services […]

To watch the recording click here Hosted by Irving Stackpole on the 20th September 2022. In this webinar, we reviewed the status of the regional markets for health, dental and medical travel. We presented concrete steps which can be taken by providers and destination managers to leverage the permanent changes in cross-border trade in health […]

Date: 22nd March 2o22 To watch the recording click here Caught in Conflict: The Ukraine Crisis & Medical Travel LIVE Panel discussion with Q&A. Tuesday March 22nd. The patient perspective was the focus of this discussion, Caught in Conflict: The Ukraine Crisis & Medical Travel hosted by Stackpole & Associates and Medical Tourism Training and […]

Date: 11th March 2022 To watch the recording click here Medical Travel – The Hybrid Future of International Healthcare Medical Korea 2022 Conference – 11th March 2022 Global Healthcare, a New Leap Forward was the focus of this conference.   Medical Travel – The Hybrid Future of International Healthcare  The “frame” • World Trade Organization […]

Date: 1st December 2021 To watch the recording click here High-Tech & High Touch European Patient Experience & Innovation Congress The patient perspective was the focus of this webinar, High-Tech & High Touch organized by the European Patient Experience and Innovation Congress (EPIC) on Wednesday, December 1, 2021. The program featured a discussion between Joao […]

Date: 14th October  2021 To watch the recording click here Register to download the webinar presentation. Transcript Health Tourism Phoenix: Markets rising from pandemic ashes Irving Stackpole & László Puczkó Laszlo Puczko Thank you very much and very good morning, very good afternoon, very good evening, depending on where you are. All these are very, […]

Date: 24th March  2021 To watch the recording click here Register to download the webinar presentation. Transcript Health Tourism: Light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel Irving Stackpole & László Puczkó László Puczkó Thank you everyone from all over the world for joining us today for this event, I really appreciate your interest and […]

Date: 26th August 2020 To watch the recording click here Register to download the webinar presentation. Transcript Health Tourism Markets: Working Toward the Thaw Irving Stackpole & László Puczkó László Puczkó Welcome everyone. We have really a global presence today. I think it’s time to start with a quick overview of what’s what and understand […]

Date: 3rd June 2020 To watch the recording click here Register to download the webinar presentation. Transcript Health Tourism After COVID-19: The Road Ahead Updated Irving Stackpole & László Puczkó László Puczkó Ever since we had the first session, so many things changed. We thought that would be really the time to revisit the discussion […]

To watch the recording click here Register to download the webinar presentation. Transcript Health Tourism After COVID-19: The Road Ahead Irving Stackpole & László Puczkó László Puczkó We appreciate your interest and your time. Health as such has become such a key issue in our lives and not just for traveling, but also for living, […]

Date: 29th April 2020 To watch the recording click here Register to download the webinar presentation. Transcript Health Tourism Grounded: Crisis Communications in Health Tourism Irving Stackpole The title of the program is Health Tourism Grounded Crisis Communications. The main points I want to cover is that there are indeed tried and true methods for […]