Hainan, a Chinese tropical island off the southern coast of China, is already a popular tourist destination, also known as China’s Hawaii. Recently, local government officials and medtech companies have committed billions to turn Hainan into a medical tourism destination too. Each year, millions of Chinese citizens travel abroad to receive medical treatment because innovative international therapies are unable to reach the mainland due to regulatory bottlenecks. By creating a medical tourism hub in China, the government hopes to keep Chinese medical tourists in the country. Local businesses such as Ciming Health Checkup Management Group and Evergrande Health Industry Group have committed around ¥23 billion CNY (~$3 billion USD) to projects such as creating new cancer hospitals and obtaining special permits to distribute foreign drugs in Hainan only. In order to remain successful, the Hainan medical tourism hub will also need to attract talented medical professionals and maintain quality service.
