Medical tourism is exploding world-wide, with growing numbers of travelers seeking cross-border travel options when it comes to their medical care. Nigerians are seeking increased accessibility in medical destinations such as India, while Americans are choosing options for cheaper medical care and services from Brazil to Croatia.

Multiple medical conferences, including the European Medical Travel Conference, set for Spain in 2011 and the Asian Medical Tourism Association is set to attend the World Medical Health Tourism Conference in Australia, all discussing the growing trend of medical travel, access to high-tech and latest forms of health delivery technology, as well as affordable and accessible health care around the globe.

Growing concerns regarding the future of healthcare in the U.S., as well as rising healthcare costs, has driven many Americans to south-of-the-border destinations such as Mexico, Costa Rica and South America for more affordable medical care. Former solitary medical tourism destinations like India and Singapore now find themselves in stiff competition from rising medical markets in South Africa, Turkey, Croatia and Greece.

Medical providers like PlacidWay are seeing a steady increase in medical patients seeking information regarding treatments and procedures, pricing options and travel and accommodation packages for travel to unique destinations like Cancun, Mexico to Istanbul, Turkey for services in cosmetic and plastic surgery, cardiac care, obesity and weight loss surgeries and procedures, chronic disease treatments and growing demand for accessible and affordable stem cell treatments and therapies.

Medical tourism is here to stay, as can be seen by rising numbers of travelers from around the world seeking quality and patient-centered care in a wide number of medical disciplines.