Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

Tijuana Aims to Incrase Medical Tourism

Economic development officials in Tijuana are trying to grow the city's medical tourism business. They'll meet with health care and tourism officials in Tijuana Friday to discuss how to boost revenue.

Tijuana Aims to Incrase Medical Tourism

Economic development officials in Tijuana are trying to grow the city's medical tourism business. They'll meet with health care and tourism officials in Tijuana Friday to discuss how to boost revenue. KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson has the story.

About 90-percent of people who go to Tijuana for medical services are from California. Flavio Olivieri helps direct the city's new health consortium. He says including pharmacy sales, the medical industry provides about three-point-five billion dollars in revenue for Tijuana.

Advertisement

Olivieri: And with better infrastructure, we will be able to increase the number of people who come to visit Tijuana. We could at least double what is being offered at this point and that could be in the short medium term, five years or so.

Olivieri says the health consortium will look at providing transportation with police protection that can cross the border more quickly through expedited lanes.

He says they'll also publish a web site in the next six months that lists medical providers in Tijuana and their state board certifications.

Amy Isackson, KPBS News.