2021 Health and Wellness
Medical Tourism Draws Visitors to Puerto Vallarta For Many Reasons
Accessibility and cost are driving factors By Guillermo Huerta With a million and one reasons to visit Puerto Vallarta, including warm weather, beautiful beaches, delicious food and the friendly locals at the top of the list of most, there’s another reason why travelers from other countries might take a second look at our port. It’s the medical side of Mexico that has been a long time relief for foreigners seeking accessible costs, humane treatment and readily available appointments. Cities like CDMX, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Juarez, Mexicali and Tijuana are well known as medical travel destinations and receive most of the market share for this segment but it’s only recently that Puerto Vallarta has been gearing it’s efforts towards attracting more of this type of tourism. While it’s easy to see why Puerto Vallarta is a paradise for most sunseekers and it’s these exact reasons that could help set it apart from its larger, more cosmopolitan competitors. Dr. Odile Desage, a French-Canadian doctor who has been living in PV for over 20 years and now runs her own medical center, shares with us, “Puerto Vallarta has paradise like russoundings, there is the beach, Mexicans are recognized by us foreigners as welcoming, friendly, attentive, things that the coldness we have in the Canadian medical system does not allow.” She goes on to share with us that patients thrive in places like this because it gives them a sense of calm and relief, they’re in a safe place where they can relax and rest while they take care of themselves. Food is also an important component as meals in Mexico are made with more natural and fresh ingredients and it’s easy for a foreigner to go out and have a healthy meal when they’re not in a position to cook for themselves. “I believe that medical tourism focuses on an accessible medical service in Mexico. Here in Vallarta the foreigner (Canadian) has accessibility to a medical service to which in truth they do NOT have accessibility in such a short time as in Mexico, they have access to specialists whom they could never see in such a short time, the health system in Puerto Vallarta is also economically attainable,” Comments Desage on the subject. And while it’s difficult to imagine that a country like Canada would have it’s residents looking elsewhere for medical treatment, it’s a harsh reality that most might have ailments that only worsen while they wait even up to five years to see a doctor for a hernia. In Mexico, cases like these can be treated immediately in first class private hospitals with a very warm and caring service from the personnel. 6
H e a l t h a n d We l l n e s s G u i d e
Summer 2021
