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 | Booming Health Tourism |
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„Health tourism is booming“ was the headline of an article that I recently read while being on the prowl for a unusual holiday for myself. I have been practising yoga for a while now and thought I could treat myself with a week of yoga in Italy or the south of France. I already expected to find a lot on the web but I have to admit I didn’t expect to find such an abundance of wellness holiday offers. Health tourism indeed seems to boom but somehow in a very uncontrolled way because nobody actually seems to know what the term includes. Terms such as wellness, fitness, relaxation, calmness or happiness pave the way of hundreds of companies in the tourism sector and of course of those thinking they can get a part of the cake. But what is really hiding behind the concept “health tourism” or does a concept like this actually exist? Does it really mean wellbeing and lifestyle as many hotels and tourism companies advertise?
Nowadays nearly everything we buy has something to do with our wellbeing, food, clothes, and fitness classes to name only a few. It is a popular advertising slogan to make people think they are doing something great for themselves if they buy a certain product. Hotels, tourism organisations, leisure centres and health resorts have joined that “club” by offering a concept that is supposed to support your bodily, mental and spiritual well-being. Hot springs, massage treatments, food advises, cooking courses, painting classes, Pilates and yoga training, all is included in certain holiday packages that shall make our lives much more bearable at least for two or three weeks. But the industry has to admit that they actually cannot provide the service that is expected from them as really skilled personnel which could develop, market, organise and sell this modern concept of the tourism industry, is still missing.
I understand the opinion of people to name the above mentioned idea health tourism but I actually have a different perception of it. Before I had read certain articles I didn’t really make a connection between wellness holiday and the health issue, although I have to say that there certainly is one. But in my eyes health tourism had something to do with people who go on holiday and have a plastic surgery, eye surgery or hair transplantation. And in fact this is also what some other people understand of it, especially Asian countries where medical tourism presents itself as a matter of high interest notably in Europe and the United States. Between 27. to the 30. September there will even be an international fair called “Proud Asia 2007” which is dedicated to health and wellness. More than 300 hosts of wellness, spa and health are expected to present their offers to approximated 15.000 visitors. Their focus is not only on traditional cure methods but also on the above mentioned plastic surgery, dental treatments or surgery in general.
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Especially Thailand and Taiwan enjoy a great popularity in this indeed booming sector. But also countries like Turkey, Romania or Croatia offer attractive deals Hospitals and private clinics run advertising campaigns especially in Western European countries to attract new visitors. And indeed the prices are very competitive and even cheaper if all costs for lodging and flight are counted in. Most of the doctors have PhD qualifications and the clinics are equally if not even better equipped with the latest technology compared to clinics in the home countries. Understandably people have their doubts about the quality of the treatments because there are also a lot of wannabes who are just seeing people’s wallet. A good research is therefore crucial and inescapable. But despite the risk, more and more people decide to have a treatment abroad which they combine with a holiday as the health system in their own countries is not able to deliver a service that satisfies the needs of people. According to “treatment Abroad” many British take surgery or medical treatment abroad into consideration. And getting information on websites like the mentioned “treatment abroad” or reading first-hand recommendations on the internet is always important as well as close contact to a person from the chosen clinic. If they offer a great service and a good preparation before the treatment, for example immediate answers by email, offering the possibility of a telephonic conversation with the responsible surgeon, at least English speaking staff and consequent explanation of the future procedure, people tend to build up trust. Some clinics even offer an after treatment medical care in the home country where they have a branch of their institute. Not all of them have this advantage but sometimes the follow up checks can also be done by general practitioners in the home country. Therefore medical treatment abroad is a competitive and attractive option for everybody who wants to save money and maybe also stay for a nice holiday. Frankly speaking, health tourism, in the sense of medical care seems to be a really booming sector in the tourism industry whose potential is high and whose developments are still at the beginning.
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