Medical tourism in Quintana Roo continues to expand

Quintana Roo is positioned as one of the most important destinations for medical tourism in Mexico, with more and more international patients combining health treatments with vacation stays, the combined expenditure of these services allows savings between 40% and 70% compared to performing medical procedures in their countries of origin.

Quintana Roo's success in medical tourism is based on its strategic location and air connectivity, which facilitate access to patients from the United States and Canada, said Jesús Garza, executive of Sani Medical Tourism in an interview; the group with operations on the border decided to locate in Playa del Carmen in 2020 and expanded to Cancun in 2023, due to the high demand for services.

“Unlike other medical destinations in Mexico, such as Los Algodones in Baja California, which mainly serve older adults, in Quintana Roo the market is largely made up of a younger public, between the ages of 30 and 50, who seek aesthetic and dental procedures or outpatient surgeries, and take advantage of their stay to enjoy the beaches and the tourist life of the region,” said Garza.

A similar case to Hospital Joya Cancun, which in just two years of operations in the state had a 300% growth in patient intake, for which it announced a new location in Tulum during the Tianguis Turístico 2025, said in an interview Leopoldo Suarez, from Hospital Joya Cancun.

Which employs between 420 and 450 local collaborators who, he assured, have better salary conditions than the public sector.

“Our doctors and staff are mainly from the region, although some specialists have migrated from other states to join our team,” he said.

The hospitals have strategic alliances with 45 hotels in Cancun to provide integral packages that combine medical treatment with vacation stays.

Medical tourism in Quintana Roo goes hand in hand with an evolution in the profile of patients, with the air connectivity with the east coast of the United States, from cities such as New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts.

“The demand has been oriented towards cosmetic procedures such as dental veneers and rejuvenation treatments, which patients take advantage of to perform during extended stays in the entity,” said Jesus Garza.