South East Asia and South Asia is the preferred hub for patients from US, UK and other European Countries. When we talk about South East Asian countries then Thailand is the one who turns out to be the leader in this part of the world.
Dental Tourism or Cross Border Treatment is growing by leaps and bounds. Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand, is the most premier and sought after hub for Dental tourism despite being surrounded by Singapore. In 2012 Thailand welcomed 2.5 million patients from different parts of the world. The reason for such a huge turnout is the cost effective treatment provided here. The cost effectiveness has not deterred the quality of treatment. This is a clear indication to the fact that Thailand draws most of its revenue by providing Dental treatment to its visitors.
Dental Tourism in Bangkok is growing day by day. Patients travel from all parts of the world to this city. The most sought after treatment is Cosmetic Dentistry in Bangkok. Apart from this patients travel here for root canal treatment, dental implants, Dentures, Gum Treatments, Bonding, Tooth Whitening and many more. The other reason for Thailand to lead the pack in the Dental Tourism sector is because of the warm and hospitable nature of the residents here. May be that’s why Thailand is often referred to as Land of Smiles.
It would be surprising for you but even after the devastating flood in 2011 Thailand welcomed 19 million tourists in 2011 itself. This was 20% more than the previous year. Out of these 19 million tourists nearly 500,000 were there for treatment thereby supporting Dental tourism in Thailand. If the stats are to be compared then Singapore sees 10.2 million tourists every year out of which 200,000 travel for Dental treatment.
The influence is growing substantially and in a lucrative fashion. Medical Tourism in Thailand is growing at the rate of 16% per year. Moreover if we look at the financial side of it, it is believed that by the end of this year the foreign Dental service is supposed to give a turnover of 100 million dollars. At the present times Dental tourism accounts for 0.4% of GDP in Thailand. This perhaps has turned out to prove that Thailand is now the hub of medical tourism. So looking from a different perspective we can surely confirm that tourism is one of the most important driving factors for Thailand. Tourism contributes for nearly 6-7% of GDP.
Suvarnbhumi Airport in Thailand is surrounded by numerous budget hotels which gives multiple options for patients. Such facility comes as a boon for a country’s economy. Apart from this the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) have a dedicate site for Dental tourism. The purpose of this site is to highlight the most preferred treatment that patients generally undergo. The other aspect of starting this site is to boost the Dental tourism part of Thailand. TAT has also partnered with Krungthai Bank and issues a debit card called as Miracle Thailand Card. This card offers life insurance in case of accident.
Dental Tourism is here to stay and for the long run. As long as country’s such as Thailand offer pocket friendly Dental treatment it will always remain the first choice for patients.
