Spain: Reproductive Tourism Growing in Popularity

‘Reproductive tourism’ is increasingly in demand around the world and Spain meets extremely optimal conditions to become a country of international reference. Currently, Spanish fertility and assisted reproduction processes have become one of the ‘meccas’ of reproductive tourism in the European Union. These services are in high demand, especially among medical tourists coming from the United Kingdom, Italy, France, and Portugal.

About 5% of the assisted reproductive treatments made in Europe are related to cross-border travel. In total, it is a business that moves almost 700 million euros in Spain every year.

According to the latest data from the National Activity Registry published by the Spanish Fertility Society (SEF) and the Ministry of Health, of the 127,420 in vitro fertilization cycles performed in Spain during 2020, 12,171 were for patients from abroad, mostly from France and Italy.

Reproductive tourism refers to foreigners who travel to Spain in order to receive fertility treatments. They are such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), and egg and sperm donation. It has already become a booming business in Spain and with a long way to go due to the economic business it generates.

Spain has high standards of healthcare quality and excellent training for its professionals. Therefore, thanks also to the high rates of pregnancy and healthy children, they have made Spain in recent years one of the main destinations for reproductive tourism in Europe and the world. In 2020, more than 152,000 assisted reproduction treatments were performed in the country, and around 10% were performed on foreign patients.

According to data from the Ministry of Health for 2020, assisted reproduction treatments in Spain have increased by almost 30% in recent years. The total value of assisted reproduction treatments carried out in Spain in 2021 was estimated at around 660 million euros. 75.7% correspond to privately owned specialized centers, 12.9% to public hospitals and 11.4% to private clinics.