Keywords
medical tourism
tourism geography
health access
How to Cite
Abstract
The inequality in access to health services, that are thought as commodities rather than a human need, has boosted medical tourism. The growth of this activity in the 21st century has been exponential, especially in developing countries, and this rises the need of studying the dynamics between countries of origin and countries of destination, a task that lacks of studies from geographers of the Global South. One of the most emblematic cases of medical tourism is the one that takes place between the USA and Mexico, widely featured in the specialized literature. A territorial analysis of medical tourism in Mexico, based in quantitative-qualitative methodology, was implemented in order to understand which of the 32 states that conform Mexico participate in this economic activity, and how. The construction of a weighing matrix that was based on qualitative data led to a thematic map with analytic elements such as border nodes related to the demand for medical services for foreigners, as well as the expansion and diversification of these services in several locations throughout the country. Medical tourism in Mexico results from the existing problems in the US health system and the deep economic inequality between these two countries.
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