San Salvador, El Salvador – El Salvador has seen significant growth in its medical tourism sector, driven by a combination of high-quality services, an increasingly diverse range of treatments, and costs lower than those in many other countries.

"We are promoting the issue of medical tourism; this is something we have been working on for years, but now it is being strengthened, especially with our diaspora, who are the ones who are having the most requests and requirements for this type of tourism," said the Minister of Tourism, Morena Valdez.

In addition to Salvadorans living abroad, the sector is also registering an increase in the arrival of consultants from North America, South America, and Europe who are looking for first-class medical solutions.

"We are going to connect this precisely with Surf City, La Libertad; we are also seeing how to have more medical services, both private and public, in our first-class tourist destinations. President Nayib Bukele has requested them and we are working with the entire Health Cabinet to strengthen this relationship in the public and private sectors," Valdez said.

The executive director of the Salvadoran Tourism Corporation (Corsatur), Alejandra Durán, affirmed that in the country, there is a solid base of companies that provide these services, which also have all the certifications required by law for patient care.

"El Salvador has more than 30 medical tourism companies that are connected; they are doctors already approved by the Superior Council of Public Health and are providing those services and we connect them with visitors because it is something that they frequently ask us," he said.

As part of the promotion of this tourism sector, both officials visited the facilities of Avante Specialized Hospital, one of the health companies that has joined this trend and is about to open a care center in Surf City La Libertad.

"During this year, the clinics will be opened in the Surf City project, in San Blas, and the objective is to provide primary care in that place and have a liaison center that is in San Salvador, in the Escalón neighborhood, in Avante Specialized Hospital to serve those tourists who require it," said the general manager of Avante Specialized Hospital, Ángel Henríquez.

For this year, the Ministry of Tourism projects that more than 4.2 million visitors will arrive in the country, generating around 3,500 million in foreign currency, of which a part is derived from medical tourism activities.