Original Research
Health Systems & Medical Tourism

Medical Tourism in Georgia: Current Barriers and Recommendations

Summary

Medical tourism—the practice of travelling across international borders to receive healthcare—has emerged as a rapidly growing multi-billion dollar global industry. Georgia, a country at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, has been identified by industry experts as having significant potential to develop its medical tourism sector, particularly given its competitive healthcare services, relatively low costs, and favourable legal frameworks for certain medical procedures including assisted reproductive technologies.

This study, published in the Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, employed mixed-methods research to investigate the factors influencing medical tourism development in Georgia, assess service quality perceptions among medical tourists, and identify barriers and strategies for growth.

Methodology

The research used both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Expert interviews were conducted with key stakeholders in Georgia’s medical tourism industry to identify barriers and opportunities. Additionally, a patient satisfaction survey was developed based on the Medical Outcomes Study Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (MOS PSQ-III) to assess medical tourists’ expectations and perceptions of healthcare service quality. The quantitative data were analysed using SPSS, with the SERVQUAL framework applied to assess gaps between expected and perceived service quality.

Current State of Medical Tourism in Georgia

Georgia’s annual tourism income of approximately $1.7 billion underscores the country’s broader economic potential in this sector. Medical tourists visiting Georgia primarily arrive from neighbouring post-Soviet countries, including Azerbaijan, Chechnya, North Ossetia, and Ingushetia, with increasing numbers from Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. For assisted reproductive services, particularly commercial surrogacy, the patient base is more diverse, with data from 2017–2019 indicating that 23% of foreign ART patients came from China, 15% from the United States, 14% from Israel, and 7% from Sweden.

Georgia’s competitive advantages include lower treatment costs compared to regional competitors, a favourable legal framework for ART and surrogacy, and competitive clinical capabilities in cardio surgery, cosmetic dentistry, plastic surgery, and reproductive health services. Georgia’s hospital sector includes 273 functioning hospitals with a total bed stock of 15,909, though the average bed occupancy rate of approximately 51% suggests significant underutilisation of capacity.

Barriers Identified

The study identified multiple barriers operating at different levels. At the systemic level, Georgia is not positioned as a medical tourism destination on the global market, there is no government strategy for medical tourism development, and the regulatory framework for protecting foreign patients’ rights is weak. At the provider level, there are extremely few internationally accredited medical facilities (only one JCI-accredited clinic at the time of study), management of medical facilities shows low awareness of medical tourism requirements, and communication skills among healthcare personnel—particularly non-physician staff—are often inadequate for international patients.

Additional barriers include the absence of direct flights with key source countries, poor coordination between medical tourism facilitators and medical facilities, and insufficient pricing policies for international patients. The government’s passive approach contrasts sharply with competing destinations where active state support has been instrumental in developing medical tourism sectors.

Service Quality Assessment

Despite the structural barriers, patient satisfaction data revealed a positive SERVQUAL gap, meaning that perceived service quality generally exceeded patient expectations. The majority of respondents reported high satisfaction with clinical care, with mean values exceeding 4 on a 5-point Likert scale. This suggests that while systemic and marketing barriers hinder the growth of medical tourism, the actual quality of clinical services is perceived favourably by those who do access them.

Implications and Recommendations

The study offers several strategic recommendations: developing a national medical tourism strategy with integrated government support; encouraging international accreditation of medical facilities to build trust; establishing cooperative frameworks between hospitality and healthcare sectors; investing in marketing and promotional activities targeting identified source markets; and improving infrastructure including direct flight connections with key countries. Georgia’s potential as a medical tourism hub in the Transcaucasia region remains substantial but requires coordinated, multi-stakeholder effort to realise.

Limitations

The study was conducted in a single cardiology centre, which limits generalisability across Georgia’s diverse healthcare landscape. The patient satisfaction survey may over-represent patients with positive experiences, as those with negative encounters may be less willing to participate. The research predates the COVID-19 pandemic, which has significantly disrupted global medical tourism patterns and may require updated assessment of barriers and opportunities.

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