Medical tourism on the rise in Argentina

The amount of tourists traveling to Argentina for medical procedures has gone up 10% since 2009, and now constitutes about 1000 visitors a month, according to mensajeroweb.com.ar. The president of the Argentine Association of Travel and Tourism says Argentina is one of the most popular medical tourism destinations in the region because of the quality of medical services, the technology, the low cost and the abundance of tourist attractions visitors can see while in the country for a medical procedure. People come from the U.S., Canada, Spain, the U.K. and Italy to places like Buenos Aires capital, Córdoba, Mendoza y Rosario, stay for an average of 12 days and spend about $1,300 a day. The majority of these tourists are women looking for plastic surgery and the internet has helped fuel the trend because patients are able to research facilities and doctors can conduct consults all via the web. It is estimated that in 2011 medical tourism will bring in $80 million.
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