Medical Tourism: Dental work in Dracula’s hometown?

Romania is well established as a destination for spa and “wellness” travel but opportunity exists to expand on this to become a destination for low cost, high quality medical services. With the success of private medical clinics such as CMU (Unirea Medical Centers) in the domestic market, there could be potential in marketing these services to patients elsewhere in the EU. A couple of sites link medical services with tourism but don’t suggest much integration - they just sell vacation tours and provide information and links to medical and dental clinics. See, for example,http://www.romanianhealth.com/

http://old.marshal.ro/en/index.php?cat=629

Private dental clinics have made more inroads in this area with clinics such as Dental Travel and Velvet Dental offering packages of dental care, hotel, restaurants and sightseeing. Dental tourism is not, however, as developed as it is elsewhere in the region. With dental fees in Romania at roughly 10-15% the rates in Western Europe, there is significant potential for expansion.

A full service travel agent, acting as a marketer for the health and dental clinics, could provide patients with a

customized and integrated offering of medical or dental services, recovery, rest and relaxation and touring. Tourism Research and Marketing estimates that 19 million medical tourism trips were made in 2005 with a value of EUR 16.4 billion. By 2010, they predict, the market will grow to 40 million trips, 4% of the total global tourism market. As Romania continues to leverage its many assets to grow the tourist trade, some effort should be made to target the increasingly important medical tourism market.


Written by Peter


10 Responses to “Medical Tourism: Dental work in Dracula’s hometown?”

  1. Dan Says:

    Americans Have Friends In India

    Three Americans living in Mumbai (Bombay), India for 20+ years formed a company called Americas’s Medical Solutions http://www.americasmedicalsolutions.com . There are no fees as the Indian hospitals pay them to hold your hand from getting the necessary passport or visa to seeing that your every comfort is met while having major surgery. They can even plan an excursion for you, if you’re up to it, either before or after the surgery. No medical need is too sophisticated, from in vitro fertilization with long term stays, to in and out dental veneers or implants in one day. LASIK surgery to hip resurfacing is all available by the most experienced doctors and sterile hospitals in the world. They are Joint Commission International Accredited and Harvard Medical International associates, etc., with unbelievably affordable prices for those with or without insurance. These Americans know exactly what Americans need and expect, but as one of their directors said, “Americans can’t believe what they get, as our surgeons and technologies are the finest and most experienced in the world. It’s a pity the US hasn’t had the equipment and technology as long as India has, and the US has simply priced themselves out of the market.” They are negotiating health plans with major insurers and employers. Most credit card limits will allow a person to get on a plane and get all his medical needs solved within the time of a vacation.

  2. Peter Says:

    The previous comment appears to be marketing material, but the business is interesting and is suggestive of the type of opportunity available in Romania. A comparable business in Romania would focus more on the EU market, initially, since travel costs are significantly lower than for patients in the U.S. market.

  3. DR.UCHENNA BEN Says:

    Dear sir,
    My coleague and I are Dental doctors working with some
    high profile clients, we have problems of where to
    send them to,in some special cases, because of the little
    facilities and aminities in which we run the clinic
    here.We’ll be on vacation soon and will like to use the opportuinity to meet you as we see you can suit our demands, so that we can discuss on how to creat a
    possible cooperation link together. i hope the link
    will help us to more efficiency and satisfaction to our patients, we will look forward to your reply.
    Best regards
    DR. UCHENNA

  4. Steve Says:

    We’ll respond via email.

  5. James Says:

    That’s great! It’s interesting to know this and trveler can get a lot benefits from travel and dental work.

  6. DentaTurism Says:

    Come to DentaTurism in Cluj-Napoca/Romania to treat your dental problems and at the same time you can spend a wonderful stay at much lower cost than you could imagine. Our dentists will restore a radiant smile and confident that you need, spending an exquisite vacation at the same time, in a historical atmosphere and cultural city, full of life, with a multitude of ways to spend your holiday. Our cabinets are fitted with the most modern dental equipment and our team will provide you highest quality services.

  7. Kayla Hernandez Says:

    the best way to avoid dental problems is to always see a dentist*’”

  8. Dr Dini - Cosmetic Dentist Says:

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  9. Electric Switch %0B Says:

    when you get older, you would be more prone to dental problems and stuff like that ,.,

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