The Eastern European state brings to the table a mix of rare treatments, low costs, and excellent natural and historical sights as part of it unique medical tourism brand

At first glance, Ukraine does not look comparable to other medical tourism tourism destinations like the United States, India and Southeast Asian countries. But looking back at the stats from the last decade, Ukraine was the eighth popular destination for health tourists in 2008. The former Soviet republic was expected to be among the top five destinations in the world over the next few years.

But with political crises such as the Orange Revolution, the Crimean crisis and the war in Donbass, medical tourism in Ukraine soon declined slowly, to the point that it didn’t have a place in the top 20 countries of health tourism by 2010.

Since 2016 and with the relative de-escalation of the situation in eastern Ukraine, and in order to counter the current economic crisis in the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky once again put Medical tourism in Ukraine on the government’s agenda to relieve it from recession as part of the Ukrainian economic strategy.

Since the incentive for many medical tourists is to reduce the costs that their treatment incurs, it is worth noting that even after taking into account all the travel and accommodation costs, Ukraine is still between 40 and 70 percent less expensive than other European states and the US. 

This led to the successful resurgence of medical tourism in Ukraine, with the industry being fast on the rise in the country. While the medical tourists had almost completely ceased entering the country by in 2016, Ukraine attracted 60 thousand health tourists in 2018, resulting in a profit of 150 million Dollars.

By presidential decree, a significant portion of this profit is reinvested the country’s Lviv Oblast, to make it, along with Kiev, the heart of medical tourism in Ukraine.

Advantages of Health Tourism in Ukraine

Although the Soviet Union suffered from an abundance of economic, social and political catastrophes, the quality and accessibility of its healthcare system was famed throughout the world and even acknowledged by their greatest rivals, the United States. Since the 1950’s, Kiev has acted alongside St.Petersburg as a de facto medical capital of Eastern Europe. Many of the renowned Soviet medical achievements were made possible through the tireless efforts of Ukrainian researchers and doctors. Even after the collapse of the USSR in 1991, Ukraine has consistently maintained high -quality medical services in the past decade and is now the country with the third largest number of medical innovations in Eastern Europe, behind Russia and Poland.

These innovations in the medical field, have preserved the popularity of Medical tourism in Ukraine during the last three decades. The most popular of medical services that benefitted from these innovations and are the most popular for medical tourists are cosmetic and dental surgeries.

In these two fields, Ukraine is easily competing with the countries of Western Europe, and outperforms them in cosmetic operations.

Although Ukraine is not among the top ten countries in terms of the number of cosmetic surgeries performed annually, the relatively low value of its national currency, along with its world class cosmetic surgeons, – famous in the Middle Eastern, Indian and Chinese markets – have directed a large number of health tourists to Ukraine with the purpose of receiving cosmetic surgeries.

In vitro fertilization, abbreviated as IVF, faces legal restrictions in many countries. It however is readily available in Ukraine with a very short queue. The availability of such rare and in-demand medical procedures is another factor has resulted in a steady trend of medical tourism in Ukraine in the past decades.

The LASIK eye surgery is another medical operation that is performed in Ukraine on the world class level and much like the IVF cycle, has a very short waiting queue.

These two treatments, which are part of the Ukrainian tourism brand, both incur a very low cost compared to European and American countries. An IVF cycle costs only 1,385 Euros, while a LASIK eye surgery costs 1,500 Euros.

Among the more basic treatments, a dental crown costs $125, which is virtually uncontested by other European countries. The prices for medical services in Ukraine share many similarities with those of Middle Eastern medical tourism leaders, namely Iran and Turkey. For example, a breast size reduction costs only 1,500 US Dollars.

Since the incentive for many medical tourists is to reduce the costs that their treatment incurs, it is worth noting that even after taking into account all the travel and accommodation costs, Ukraine is still between 40 and 70 percent less expensive than other European states and the US.

Ancient Cathedrals and Peace in the Black Sea

As always, one of the key factors that attracts medical tourists to different health tourism destinations, is the possibility of conducting normal tourism alongside treatment. In this context, Ukraine has two features that make it an attractive destination. Ukraine was the first Christian country in Eastern Europe and is therefore filled with the magnificent churches of in the style of eastern orthodoxy. The most famous of which is the Cathedral of St. Sophia, built at the heart of Kiev in 11th century.

The Black Sea coast in Ukraine has long been the retreat of Russian rulers. Russian style villas known as “Dachas” are now provided to medical tourists as well. In many of these dachas, alternative medical care services such as mineral therapy, mud therapy and aquatic therapy are also offered. Many of these dachas also house the famous Russian Saunas, set up in these villas to provide relief and peace of mind to tourists during the convalescence period.

The dazzling nature of Ukraine with its broad and green fields, rain forests and peaceful beaches make the country ideal for tourists who are interested in sightseeing and hiking in nature along with their treatment process.