It covers the bright prospects of medical tourism in terms of economic gain. Department of psychology, university of cambridge, downing street, cambridge, cb2 3eb, england. It is expected that medical tourism in germany will rely more on patients from the gulf. Indeed, indias medical tourism sector is a growing source of foreign exchange as well as reputation and good will in other. Make in india initiative will contribute to the growth of medical tourism phenomenally for several reasons.
Medical tourism may raise broader ethical issues for the countries in which it is promoted. Development of healthcare and health tourism in africa south africa, tunisia, ghana industry participants find hospitals and clinics, agents and facilitators, services and other organisations operating in the medical travel industry that are based in tunisia. In 2010, almost 4,000 uk patients travelled to thailand to access medical treatment table 1, accounting for 3. This treatment may span the full range of medical services, but most commonly includes dental. Medical tourism makes an interesting reading regarding the current and future aspects of medical tourism in india.
Maria todd curates this facebook page on medical tourism business and economic development for clinics, hospitals, and thermal waters resorts in tunisia. The number of medical tourists visiting tunisia is increasing every year. Medical tourism market size,share forecast,industry. Uk medical tourists to thailand demographic profiles. Travel for medical treatment is an aspect of globalization and health that is comparatively less understood. Medical tourism in spain low cost spain medical treatment. Medical tourism is a new market bringing together healthcare services on a global level. Parameters 2010 20 2014 gap in % 2014 20 gap in % 2014 2010. Spa is a core business within wellness tourism and accounts for a significant portion of the wellness tourism economy. Thailand is amongst a handful of countries that have positioned themselves as medical tourism destination. Mar 23, 2020 thailand has long been one of the best medical tourism destinations in the world, with low health care costs and excellent service for expats. Medical tourism involves patients intentionally leaving their home country to access nonemergency health care services abroad. Only open access journals only scielo journals only wos journals.
Patients who travel abroad for medical treatment do so for a variety of reasons. However, in the past few years the world has seen a boom in medical tourism. This trend 7 began to reverse stin the late 20th and. Medical tourism is a fast growing multibilliondollar industry around the world and it entails trade in services of two major industries i. An introduction to medical tourism sun, sand and wellness. Jul 18, 2014 more analysis is needed of the rationale for travel, the behaviour of medical tourists, the economic and social impact of medical tourism, the role of intermediaries, the place of medical tourism.
Tunisia is a country at the forefront of modernism. Medical tourism in spain there is more to spain than bullfights, flamenco music and dance, exotic beaches and plenty of sunshine. Bangkok is home to bumrungrad hospital, where i myself went for a total health checkup after losing a bit of weight, and paid very, very little. Sir, the article by jose and sachdeva titled keeping an eye on future. This is due to varying bioethical considerations for some medical procedures and technologies, high healthcare costs, and. Medical tourism, law, and ethics offers a thorough examination of the growing practice of medical tourism, the legal regulations governing it, and the many ethical issues it raises for policymakers, health. Iimtc international india medical tourism congress. This is due to varying bioethical considerations for some medical procedures and technologies, high healthcare costs, and unequal accessibility to quality healthcare. The medical tourism index measures and compares the consumer perception of medical tourism among leading destinations. Globalization has further boosted the growth of medical tourism and its found to be complimenting the growth of hotel and travel industry business in india. Nowadays, medical tourism in india is considered to be holding immense potential. Of uk patients 69% are male and 31% are female table 2 and the largest group 26% are between 4554 years old, with the average age of a patient being 46. Journal rankings on tourism, leisure and hospitality.
The book analyses the history and development of the industries, the way in which they are managed. Little is known about volume, characteristic and motivation of medical tourists, limiting understanding of effects on health systems and patients. Medical tourism is a multibillion dollar industry promoted by governments and the medical and tourism industries. Journal rankings on tourism, leisure and hospitality management. Sign up for an imtj country subscription for access, or login if youre already a subscriber. By sharing performance and stories of sustainability initiatives, destinations around the world contribute to improving the consumers perception and opportunity to seek medical travel services around the world. The tunisian economy did not stop inciting for the commitment in the process of restructuring and upgrade of its productive mosaic while taking into account the aspect durability. Tunisia contribution of travel and tourism to gdp % of. Medical tourismpeople traveling abroad with the expressed purpose of accessing medical treatmentis a growing phenomenon associated with globalization. Japanese companies send their employees to thailand, 8 or to countries in the gulf. In 2015 the patients travelling to germany from the gulf recorded growth of 17%, mainly driven by saudi arabia 34% of the gulf figure and kuwait 19% of the gulf figure. Tunisia seeks to become a major regional destination for medical and health tourism. The wikitourists are new and not too experienced in the ways of wikipedia etiquette.
Jun 18, 2018 websites which provide information regarding medical tourism may minimize the risks of clinical interventions in international jurisdictions 41. This page provides tunisia tourist arrivals actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. Tourism in tunisia is an industry that generates around 9. Brent lovelock department of tourism dr kirsten lovelock department of public health, wgtn. Indias share in the global medical tourism industry is predicted to. In 2018, contribution of travel and tourism to gdp % of gdp for tunisia was 15. For example, in india, some argue that a policy of medical tourism for the classes and health missions for the masses will lead to a deepening of the inequities already embedded in the health care system. The article takes a closer look at an emerging new healthcare industry. World medical tourism status and statistics in the last years medical tourism industry has captured the interest of the media. Medical tourism has often been portrayed as involving patients from highincome countries travelling to access cheaper care in low and middleincome countries. Thus private hospitals in india are seeing an influx of.
Past few years have seen spain gain prominence for its excellent medical system that offers low cost and quality medical treatment for patients from all over the globe. Enjoy the cheap plane tickets cheap with tunisair for your medical tourism stay in tunisia. Health tourism development in tunisia home facebook. The majority come from libya because of the better level of care available in tunisia and the wrecked state of libyan healthcare. The study was conducted using secondary data and reports. Welfare, equity, ethical issues arising out of medical tourism have to be faced crowding out of domestic patients, especially poor and rural, by foreign patients lessons and policy issues. An introduction to medical tourism whitehead agency group. Many countries are specializing in healthcare services to attract the medical tourist looking for value in pricing, quality, specialists expertise, or newest advancements in technology.
With a long experience in medical tourism, and ranked 27th worldwide in 2009 in the standard of health by the davos report, tunisia positions itself today as a leading destination of health and wellness. In 2014 germany attracted over 10,000 medical tourists from saudi arabia. Medical tourism occurs when consumers elect to travel across international borders with the intention of receiving some form of medical treatment. So much so that medical tourism is growing by 16% a year. Yet, there has been little effort to systematically synthesize what is known about the effects of this. Superior medical schools, a low cost of living, family preferences, and the barriers to foreign accreditation mean that indian doctors may prefer to work in india rather than. Crooks, associate professor, department of geography, simon fraser university dr. Among tunisias tourist attractions are its cosmopolitan capital city of tunis, the ancient ruins of carthage, the muslim and jewish quarters of jerba, and. Clare omatseye, yesterday disclosed that a total of one billion dollars is lost annually to medical tourism in nigeria even as she lamented. An overview of the medical tourism industry in chennai, india version 1. The medical tourism market is estimated to be growing at a rate of 1525% per annumii.
From the 18th to the 20th century, mostly wealthy patients from developing 6 countries traveled to medical centers in europe and the u. There are approximately 20 million medical tourists in the world in 2015. Impact of globalization on medical tourism in developing. India is currently promoting medical tourism aggressively. Medical tourism is the travel of people in search of medical care that is either, unavailable, unaffordable or proscribed at home healthcare systems. Recognizing tunisias prominent role in medical tourism in northern african and on the continent, the government has launched an ambitious strategy to transform tunisia into a regional medical hub by 2016. Introduction to medical tourism medical tourism is not a new concept. Madha suresh, associate professor, department of geography, university of madras dr. Status, growth and impact of medical tourism in india. I page an overview of the medical tourism industry in chennai, india v e r s i o n 1. Today, there is a trend of medical tourism in india. Tunisian health and medical tourism showing steady growth.
Tunisia has been an attractive destination for tourists since the beginning of the 1960s. European patients also visit tunisia, mostly for health tourism and holidays at hotels providing spas and medical centres in their facilities. Tourism in figures realizations of the tourist sector in 2014. Within this section, you will find information on medical tourism numbers, our estimate of inbound and outbound medical tourists where they can be reliably ascertained and news that provides estimates of medical tourism activity in tunisia. Why medical tourism to foreign hospitals thrive the. Wellness tourism is different from, and larger than, medical tourism. Medical tourism, synonymous with the words like health tourism, medical travel or global healthcare and has become a universal concept gaining importance.
Hotel and restaurant employees by sex, 20002012 28 5. Effects of medical tourism on health systems in africa. Several foreign and domestic tourist patients prefer indian states of maharashtra, goa, kerala, karnataka and gujarat for taking medical treatment along with tourism. Aug 23, 2017 president, healthcare federation of nigeria, hfn, mrs. Spas, wellness and medical travel, 2nd edition takes an indepth and comprehensive look at the growing health, wellness and medical tourism sectors in a global context. Recognizing tunisias prominent role in medical tourism in northern african and on the continent, the government has launched an ambitious strategy to. Medical tourism can be defined as travel across international borders with the purpose of availing medical treatment of some form, which may or may not be available in the. What is known about the effects of medical tourism in. Tourism, the key branch of the country, constitutes a privileged. Total inbound and outbound tourism expenditure, 1995 2014 22 3. Medical tourism in tunisia tunisia, destination health of excellence tunisia is a country at the forefront of modernism. Growth in the popularity of this practice has resulted in a significant amount of attention being given to it from researchers, policymakers, and the media. The elite from developing countries seek treatments not available in their own countries.
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