Maryam Ferdowsi
The Beating Heart of Medical Tourism in Central Europe
Due to historical reasons, many industries and other entities suffer from a certain “East-West” divide in Europe. Medical tourism is no exception. Each side of this continent features different brands of medical tourism heralded by different approaches to the industry. Today however, our subject is a blend of the two. Both geographically as well as in its approach to the industry, Hungary is a central European country.
Hungary has managed to despite the existence of medical tourism superpowers to its west, attract medical tourists from these countries while due to its medical reputation, attract patients from its east.
Stats regarding medical tourism in Hungary are stunning considering that it is surrounded by powerful competitors in all sides. According to DW, in 2017 alone the country attracted more than 2 million medical tourists. A number that is higher than all of the medical tourists that flock to Hungary’s eastern rivals combined. These number make Hungary not only a leading European medical tourism power, but even comparable to powerhouses in the SEA region.
History
The pedigree of modern medicine in Hungary is one of the oldest in all of Europe. Back in 19th century, Austria-Hungary was a leading scientific power, and much of modern medicine was shaped by German and Hungarian physicians.
Although the country eventually fell under soviet dominance, it was never one of its republics and maintained great degrees of autonomy in many industries and fields, medicine included. Even as early as the cold war the country was considered a medical tourism destination for the eastern bloc.
Following the soviet demise in 1990’s, Hungary emerged with new borders and neighbors and sought to fully utilize medical tourism as one of its economic foundations.
Target Markets of Medical Tourism in Hungary
For more than a thousand years, Germans and Hungarians have maintained close relationships. Therefore large parts of the target audience for medical tourism in Hungary are Germans and Austrians. Nearly all of Hungarian medical society is able to converse in German fluently, while Hungarian medical tourism facilitators offer special packages for their German speaking neighbors. These German speaking populations are encouraged by the low prices of these medical trip packages as well as the pre-existing cultural ties to seek treatment in Hungary. Every year more than a million Austrian and Germans go to Hungary for treatment.
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Another major source of incoming medical tourists for Hungary is its eastern and Balkan neighbors. Close proximity, similarity of prices and higher quality of treatment are the main factors that drive the citizens of the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia to Hungary for treatment.
Top Medical Centers of Hungary
Medical tourism in Hungary mostly revolves around dental services as well as its elite therapy centers that are located around natural hot springs and offer natural treatments. Still the capital of the country Budapest and the city of Pécs are the main centers of medical tourism in Hungary. The Dr.Rose hospital, the Buda hospital, the Medicover hospital and the Kelen hospital are the main medical centers of Hungary.
Hungarian Dentistry: Leading in Europe
Without any doubt, the main treatment of Hungary that features prominently in its bid for medical tourism is its dentistry. Dentistry is also the main focus of Hungarian medical tourism facilitators. With over 7000 active dental clinics, Hungary has the most in Europe while the country has the highest number of undertaken dental procedures in Europe per annum. Even small border towns of Hungary offer excellent dental services. So far that an Austrian medical tourism agency known as “Zahnklinik Ungarn” Sends more than 20 thousand dental patients to the small city of “Mosonmagyaróvár” just over the shared border.
Dental services in Hungary are also quite affordable, for example, an implant costs up to 1500 Euros in Western European private clinics, while it can be performed with 800 Euros in Hungary.
Hungarian Magical Hot Springs
Interestingly enough the main reason for the success of medical tourism in Hungary is not its constant effort in the medical field, but its natural sources. The Baden territory in Germany and Swiss and Austrian Alps are al famed for their powerful hot springs. However none of them are a match for the density and richness of minerals that are found the Carpathian hot springs of Hungary, a fact that is further reflected by the huge numbers of medical tourists who go to the country for this very reason.
Hungary houses over 1600 high quality hot springs, 98 of which are medically approved by the country’s health ministry. The high quality of these springs as well as the large marketing campaigns around them has made them the main medical tourism attraction of Hungary.
The main reason behind the staggering numbers of medical tourism in hungary are also these springs. Since many of these springs are considered medical centers by the country, the unsuspecting tourists that go to these magical springs for non-medical reasons are also registered as medical tourists.