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What is health tourism and why is it growing?

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Health tourism is a growing trend around the world. But what is health tourism and why is it so popular? Read on to find out…

What is health tourism?

The growth of health tourism, why is health tourism important, health tourism activities, health tourism- further reading.

Health tourism is a tricky one to define. It is more of an umbrella term, encompassing both wellness tourism and medical tourism. These two types of tourism may seem quite different, but they both fundamentally have health at their core. So, health tourism can be defined as follows:

Health tourism covers those types of tourism which have as a primary motivation, the contribution to physical, mental and/or spiritual health through medical and wellness-based activities which increase the capacity of individuals to satisfy their own needs and function better as individuals in their environment and society.

This definition comes from an executive summary published by the World Tourism Organization and the European Travel Commission in 2018. As you can see, the exploration of health tourism in itself is a relatively new idea. The two organisations also provided the following definitions of wellness and medical tourism respectively:

Wellness tourism is a type of tourism activity which aims to improve and balance all of the main domains of human life including physical, mental, emotional, occupational, intellectual and spiritual. The primary motivation for the wellness tourist is to engage in preventive, proactive, lifestyle enhancing activities such as fitness, healthy eating, relaxation, pampering and healing treatments.       

Medical tourism is a type of tourism activity which involves the use of evidence-based medical healing resources and services (both invasive and non-invasive). This may include diagnosis, treatment, cure, prevention and rehabilitation.   

What is wellness tourism?

There are many reasons as to why health tourism as an industry is growing. People are keener than ever to put their health and wellbeing first – especially now we are 2 years into a global pandemic. As a population , we are more aware now than ever before how our health can hang in the balance. And just knowing this, coupled with all of the other changes brought about by the pandemic as well as the general ease of accessing information, mean that life is generally more stressful. So it is no wonder that we are looking for wellness trips to calm and soothe ourselves – and to affordable and accessible medical procedures that may be unavailable at home…

The UK sees health tourism as a distinct and negative phenomenon. The media uses the term to refer to people who travel to the UK deliberately in order to access free medical treatment from the National Health Service. This is seen as leeching off the state, and as you can imagine is particularly frowned upon by many in the country. However, reports show that the government estimates ‘health tourism’ costs the NHS only £300m annually – or 0.3% of their budget! But due to this, new laws are in place to charge people who do not ‘ordinarily reside’ in the UK if they use the NHS.

Health tourism is important for many reasons. Looking at it from an economical point of view, it provides a boost to local economies when people travel to a destination for any reason. So heading to a summer yoga retreat in Santorini or getting some dental work done in Turkey is contributing to the local economy. And it’s not just the cost of your treatment or stay – you will also purchase food and drink, maybe even souvenirs. You might extend your trip and do some sightseeing with local tour companies too. All of these things mean a cash injection for the area and its inhabitants.

Linked to this is that health tourism often provides a cheaper opportunity to do something you were going to do at home. Travelling for optional surgery or going to a small spa in a remote village might be much cheaper than doing so in your home country. In this way, health tourism actually provides people with a way to save money.

Health tourism is also important as it is a reflection of my earlier point – people are taking more of an interest in their health. Regardless of whether it’s wellness tourism or medical tourism, health tourists are travelling with the primary focus of improving their mind, body or life in some way. This is obviously a positive factor for society.

As health tourism combines wellness and medical tourism, the activities it involves are anything which falls under these categories. Essentially, anything you do as a tourist which is aimed at improving your health is classed as health tourism. See a list of activities below:

  • Dental/dentistry
  • Orthopedics
  • Cosmetic/plastic surgery
  • Bariatric surgery 
  • Fertility treatment
  • Eye surgery
  • Ears, nose and throat
  • Organ transplants
  • Rehabilitation
  • Alternative medication access
  • Yoga retreats
  • Writing retreats
  • Meditation centres
  • Weight loss or healthy eating retreats
  • Sensory deprivation

Popular health tourism destinations

There are many destinations you can visit as a health tourist. Your home country may also be a health tourism location for people from other countries. It is all contextual and subjective, depending on what exactly you are looking to get out of your trip…

What is health tourism?

This is a popular place for health tourism – particularly when it comes to wellness. With its geothermal pools, breathtaking scenery, infinity pools and mountain hiking areas the options are endless! A very popular part of Iceland for wellness activities is Myvatn Nature Baths, where the alkaline in the water has a lot of minerals and is incredibly beneficial for the treatment of skin conditions. Because of this, it can also be seen as a destination which works for medical purposes – making it a dead cert for health tourism.

Ever heard of the saying ‘Turkey teeth’? It doesn’t come from nowhere! The reason this term exists is because many people (particularly younger people, celebrities, and influencers) flock to Turkey to have dental treatment done for cosmetic purposes. They want straighter, whiter and brighter teeth. Something like this might cost double or triple in the UK, for example, than what it would in Turkey. Plus, visitors get to combine their trip with sun, sea and sand!

India is a big one for health tourism as it has a big wellness tourism industry combined with many options for medical tourists to have cheaper procedures done. Being such a spiritual country, it is no wonder that people come here for wellness purposes. The Indian government readily promotes the country as a hub for yoga, Sidha, naturopathy and Ayurveda – citing the ‘spiritual philosophy that has been integral to the Indian way of life’. There are retreats right across the country, particularly in countryside areas but also in the bustling cities which mean it works for both primary AND secondary wellness tourism.

Primary wellness tourism is when someone’s whole trip is focused on wellness; it is their sole reason for travel, and the major component of their trip. Every aspect of their holiday is tailored to wellness. Secondary wellness tourism is when general tourists incorporate some aspect of wellness (a massage on the beach during an all-inclusive Mexican vacation) into their holiday.

India is also a huge destination when it comes to medical tourism. Locations such as Chennai, Maharashtra and Kerala are really popular for medical procedures, with costs being about one tenth of those in either the UK or the USA. Medical tourists travel to India for alternative medicine, cardiac procedures, bone-marrow transplants, eye surgery and hip replacements in particular.

Beautiful Hawaii is like one big spa in itself. Primary wellness tourists visit here in droves to experience the therapeutic salt water, the laid back atmosphere, the glorious sunshine and the traditional practices of omilomi massage and pohaku (hot stone treatment). With scenery that will leave you lost for words, it is one of the most relaxing places in the world which is why wellness tourism is so big here – and so, by extension, is health tourism.

This stunning country has cutting edge technology and beautiful spaces to relax – making it ideal for health tourism encompassing both wellness and medical tourism. People tend to head here for small elective surgeries, choosing to get the procedure done for a lower price and recover somewhere beautiful! And there are so many options for wellness tourists, too. From Thai massage parlours to serene meditation retreats on beaches where the sunsets are bright pink and shiny gold, you couldn’t ask for somewhere more suited to a relaxing wellness trip.

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Health Tourism: Exploring the Industry, Types, and Top Destinations

April 23, 2023.

Health tourism, also referred to as medical tourism or wellness tourism, is a rapidly growing sector within the global tourism industry. It encompasses a diverse range of activities and services, all aimed at improving or maintaining an individual's health and well-being. This article presents an overview of the health tourism industry, discusses different types of health tourism, examines the top 100 destinations, and provides insights into the number of travelers engaging in health tourism. ‍

Definition of Health Tourism

Health tourism is broadly defined as the practice of individuals traveling outside their country of residence to seek medical treatments, procedures, or wellness experiences. The motivations behind such travel may vary but often include factors such as cost savings, access to specialized treatments, shorter waiting times, or the opportunity to combine medical procedures with leisure travel. ‍

Types of Health Tourism

  • Medical Tourism: This category of health tourism focuses on individuals that travel for medical treatments and procedures abroad. Common medical treatments sought by medical tourists include elective surgeries, dental treatments, fertility treatments, and cosmetic procedures. Often, providers offer medical tourism packages that include treatment costs, physician fees, ground transportation and, in some cases, hotel accommodation.
  • Wellness Tourism: Wellness tourism, on the other hand, emphasizes the pursuit of well-being through activities and experiences that promote physical, mental, and spiritual health. Examples include spa treatments, yoga retreats, and mindfulness workshops.
  • Preventative Healthcare Tourism: This type of health tourism revolves around the concept of proactive health management. Travelers in this category may seek routine medical check-ups, diagnostic tests, or alternative medical treatments to prevent potential health issues.

Top Destinations for Health Tourism

While it is beyond the scope of this article to provide an exhaustive list of the top health and medical tourism destinations; some notable countries and regions have emerged as leaders in this industry, particularly for combining medical and wellness services. These include:

  • Thailand: Renowned for its state-of-the-art medical facilities and cost-effective treatments, Thailand has become a popular destination for medical tourists from around the world.
  • India: With its combination of advanced healthcare infrastructure, skilled medical professionals, and affordable treatment options, India has emerged as a prominent player in the health tourism sector.
  • Singapore: Known for its high-quality healthcare system, Singapore attracts health tourists seeking top-notch medical treatments and wellness experiences.
  • Turkey: Offering high-quality medical care at competitive prices, Turkey has become a preferred destination for health tourists, particularly for cosmetic procedures and dental treatments.
  • Hungary: Hungary is well-known for its dental and medical spa tourism, thanks to its high-quality services and natural thermal springs.
  • Costa Rica: This Central American country has made a name for itself in the medical tourism industry by providing affordable, high-quality healthcare services in a beautiful natural setting.
  • South Korea: Boasting world-class healthcare infrastructure and cutting-edge medical technology, South Korea is a top destination for cosmetic surgery and advanced medical treatments.
  • Malaysia: Offering a range of healthcare services at competitive prices, Malaysia has become a popular destination for medical and wellness tourism in     Southeast Asia.
  • Brazil: With its expertise in cosmetic surgery and dental treatments, Brazil attracts health tourists from across the globe.
  • Spain: Spain's modern healthcare infrastructure and affordable treatment options make it an attractive destination for European health tourists.

Travelers Engaging in Health Tourism

The number of travelers engaging in health tourism has been steadily increasing in recent years. According to the Medical Tourism Association, the global medical tourism industry was valued at $58.6 billion in2020, with an estimated 14 million patients traveling for medical treatments each year. This figure is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR)of 12% through 2025, reaching an estimated market value of $142.2 billion.

Wellness tourism, on the other hand, has also witnessed significant growth in recent years. According to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness tourism market was worth $639 billion in 2019 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 7.5%, reaching $919 billion by 2022. This growth is driven by the increasing global demand for health and wellness experiences, as well as the rise in disposable incomes and greater awareness of preventive healthcare measures.

Several factors have contributed to the growth of health tourism. Some of these include:

Cost Savings: One of the main driving forces behind the growth of health tourism is the potential for significant cost savings. The cost of medical treatments and procedures can vary dramatically between countries due to factors such as labor costs, government subsidies, and differences in the cost of living. By traveling to countries with lower healthcare costs, health tourists can save a considerable amount of money. For example, a heart bypass surgery in the United States may cost around $100,000,while the same procedure in India could cost approximately $7,000. These cost savings can be particularly attractive for patients who are uninsured, underinsured, or require elective procedures that are not covered by insurance.

Access to Specialized Treatments: Another factor driving health tourism is the opportunity to access specialized treatments that may not be available or have limited availability in one's home country. This can be due to a lack of cutting-edge medical technology, a shortage of medical professionals with specialized skills, or restrictive regulations on certain treatments. Health tourists may choose to travel abroad to receive state-of-the-art care or treatments that are considered experimental or unapproved in their home country.

Shorter Waiting Times: In some countries, patients may face long waiting times for certain medical treatments or procedures due to factors such as limited healthcare resources or high demand. These waiting times can be particularly challenging for patients with chronic pain, deteriorating conditions, or urgent medical needs. Health tourism offers the opportunity for patients to bypass these waiting times and receive the necessary treatments more quickly. For example, a patient in the United Kingdom may face a waiting period of several months for a hip replacement surgery, while the same procedure could be readily available in countries such as Spain or Turkey.

Higher Quality of Care: Some health tourists perceive that the quality of care in another country may be higher than what is available in their home country. This perception can stem from factors such as the reputation of the destination country's healthcare system, the use of advanced medical technology, or the expertise of the medical professionals. For example, Singapore is renowned for its world-class healthcare system, attracting health tourists seeking top-notch medical treatments and wellness experiences. Additionally, countries like South Korea have gained a reputation for excellence in cosmetic surgery, drawing patients from around the world to receive high-quality care from skilled surgeons.

Combining Medical Procedures with Leisure Travel: Health tourism also offers the unique opportunity for individuals to combine medical treatments or wellness experiences with leisure travel. Many health tourists choose to extend their stay in the destination country to explore the local culture, visit tourist attractions, or simply relax and recuperate in a beautiful setting. This combination of medical and leisure travel can contribute to the overall well-being of the patient and enhance their recovery process. For example, a patient undergoing dental treatment in Costa Rica might also take the time to visit the country's beautiful beaches, rainforests, and national parks during their stay.

Health tourism has emerged as a significant sector within the global tourism industry, fueled by factors such as cost savings, access to specialized treatments, and a growing focus on wellness and preventative healthcare. As the industry continues to expand, more countries are investing in their healthcare infrastructure to attract health tourists, offering a wide range of medical and wellness services to meet the diverse needs of these travelers. With the increasing popularity of health tourism, it is essential for healthcare providers, governments, and tourism organizations to work together to ensure the highest standards of care and services for health tourists while promoting sustainable and responsible practices within the industry.

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examples of health tourism

A Global Authority in Medical Tourism Accreditation

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Why Patients Are Turning to Medical Tourism

Statistics, Benefits, and Risks

Planning Ahead

Frequently asked questions.

Medical tourism is a term that refers to traveling to another country to get a medical or dental procedure. In some instances, medical tourists travel abroad seeking alternative treatments that are not approved in the United States.

Medical tourism is successful for millions of people each year, and it is on the rise for a variety of reasons, including increasing healthcare costs in the United States, lack of health insurance, specialist-driven procedures, high-quality facilities, and the opportunity to travel before or after a medical procedure.

According to a New York Times article from January 2021, pent-up demand for nonessential surgeries, as well as the fact that many Americans lost their health insurance during the coronavirus pandemic led to a surge in medical tourism once other countries re-opened.

However, there are specific risks that come with traveling overseas for surgery. If you're thinking of pursuing a medical procedure in another country, here's what to know about the benefits and the risks.

Medical Tourism Benefits

The most common procedures Americans go abroad for include dental care, cosmetic procedures , fertility treatments, organ transplants , and cancer treatment.

This is not to be confused with having an unplanned procedure in a foreign country due to an unexpected illness or injury.

Among the reasons a person might choose to go abroad for a medical procedure are:

Lower Costs

Medical tourists can save anywhere from 25% to 90% in medical bills, depending on the procedure they get and the country they travel to. There are several factors that play into this:

  • The cost of diagnostic testing and medications is particularly expensive in the United States.
  • The cost of pre- and post-procedure labor is often dramatically lower overseas. This includes labor costs for nurses , aides, surgeons , pharmacists, physical therapists , and more.
  • High cost of malpractice insurance—the insurance that protects medical professionals against lawsuits—in the United States.
  • Hospital stays cost far less in many overseas countries compared to the United States. In other words, quality care, hospital meals, and rehabilitation are far more affordable abroad for many people.

For someone who doesn't have insurance , or someone having a procedure that is not covered by insurance , the difference can be enormous.

Popular Countries for Medical Tourism

Dominican Republic

South Korea

Culture and Language

Many immigrants prefer to have treatments and procedures done in their country of origin—a sensible decision, considering just how much language barriers alone can affect the quality of their care.

Furthermore, at least 25% of immigrants and noncitizen residents in the United States are uninsured, compared to 9% of American citizens. Children with at least one noncitizen parent are also more likely to be uninsured.

Practicalities aside, many people choose to have their procedure done in their country of origin simply because it allows them to be close to family, friends, and caretakers who can assist them through their recovery .

Insurance Incentives

Some insurance companies have started promoting medical tourism. The reason behind this is simple: savings for the insured means savings for the insurance provider and vice versa.

Several insurance providers, including Aetna have programs specifically geared at promoting safe medical tourism. Some insurance providers even offer financial incentives for medical tourism, like discounts on medical bills .

That said, many insurance companies will not pay for surgery performed outside of the country unless it is an emergency.

Luxury and Privacy

Medical tourism is a lucrative business for many countries, and much of the money brought in by medical tourists is reinvested into the local economy and health infrastructure.

The effect of this is apparent in the spa-like luxury that some foreign hospitals offer, providing medical tourists the opportunity to be pampered during their stay for a fraction of the cost they would pay at home.

Some facilities offer hospital rooms that are more like a hotel suite than a traditional hospital room. Other hospitals offer one-on-one private nursing care, which is far more generous and attentive than the staffing ratios that most hospitals allow.

Medical tourists who seek that added layer of privacy can find it abroad. Many can return home from their "vacation" without anyone knowing they had a procedure at all.

Vacation in a Foreign Country

Medical tourists often take advantage of their stay in a foreign country to travel for pleasure by scheduling a vacation before or after their procedure.

This is an especially inexpensive way to travel to a foreign country, especially if their insurance provider is paying for the flight and the cost of staying is low. 

While it seems logical to recover on a beach or in a chalet by the mountains, keep in mind that it's important not to jeopardize your recovery.

Swimming isn't recommended until your incisions are completely closed. You may not feel up to doing much more than napping in the days following your procedure, either.

Don't let your vacation disrupt your recovery. Any time you have a procedure done, especially a surgery, it's important to listen to your body, take your medications as directed, and follow your doctor's recommendations closely.

Bypassing Rules and Regulations

Some travelers seek surgery abroad to bypass rules that are set in place by their own government, insurance company , or hospital. These rules are typically in place to protect the patient from harm, so getting around them isn't always the best idea.

For example, a patient may be told that their weight is too low to qualify for weight loss surgery . A surgeon in a foreign country may have a different standard for who qualifies for weight loss surgery, so the patient may qualify overseas for the procedure they want.

Talented Surgeons

Surgeons in certain countries are known for their talent in a specific area of surgery. For example, Brazilian surgeons are often touted for their strong plastic surgery skills .

Whereas in the United States, insurance companies might only cover cosmetic procedures if it is medically necessary, cosmetic surgery is often free or low-cost in Brazil's public hospitals—giving cosmetic surgeons there ample practice.

Thailand is reported to be the primary medical tourism destination for individuals seeking gender reassignment . It is often easier to qualify for surgery and the cost is significantly reduced. Surgeons are performing the procedures frequently, and as a result, many have become quite specialized in them.

It is often surprising to many medical tourists that their physician was trained in the United States. Not all physicians are, of course, but a surprisingly high percentage of them working in surgery abroad are trained in English-speaking medical schools and residency programs and then return to their home country. These physicians often speak multiple languages and may be board certified in their home country and a foreign country, such as the United States.

Medical tourism isn’t limited to countries outside of the United States, either. Many people travel to the United States for medical care due to the country's cutting-edge technology, prescription medication supply, and the general safety of healthcare.

Medical Tourism Risks

The financial and practical benefits of medical tourism are well known, and you may even know someone who had a great experience. Nonetheless, the downsides of medical tourism can be just as great if not greater. Sometimes, they can even be deadly.

If you are considering a trip abroad for your procedure, you should know that medical tourism isn't entirely without obstacle and risks. These include:

Poorly Trained Surgeons

In any country—the United States included—there will be good surgeons and bad. And just as there are great surgeons abroad, there are also some surgeons who are less talented, less trained, and less experienced.

Regardless of what procedure you are getting or where, you should always do some preliminary research into the surgeon or physician who will be treating you as well as the hospital you will be treated at.

In the United States, it is fairly easy to obtain information about malpractice lawsuits , sanctions by medical boards, and other disciplinary actions against a physician.

Performing this research from afar can be challenging, especially if you don't speak the local language. Yet countless people take the risk anyway, without knowing whether the physicians who will treat them are reputable.

A physician should be trained in the specific area of medicine that is appropriate for your procedure. For example, you should not be having plastic surgery from a surgeon who was trained to be a heart doctor. It isn’t good enough to be a physician, the physician must be trained in the specialty .

Prior to agreeing to surgery, you should also know your surgeon’s credentials : where they studied, where they trained, and in what specialty(s) they are board-certified. Do not rely on testimonials from previous patients; these are easily made up for a website and even if they are correct, one good surgery doesn’t mean they will all be successful.

Quality of Staff

Nurses are a very important part of healthcare, and the care they provide can mean the difference between a great outcome and a terrible one.

A well-trained nurse can identify a potential problem and fix it before it truly becomes an issue. A poorly trained nurse may not identify a problem until it is too late. The quality of the nursing staff will have a direct impact on your care.

Once again, it's important to research the hospital staff where you will be having your procedure done. Read the reviews but don't trust them blindly. If you can, seek out a recommendation from someone who can vouch for the medical staff where you will be going.

Quality of the Facility

While researching healthcare facilities for your procedure, you want to learn not just about the quality of the facilities themselves, but about the country's healthcare system as a whole.

In some countries, there is a marked distinction between public hospitals and private hospitals. In Turkey, for example, private hospitals are considered on-par with hospitals in the states, while many locals will advise you to steer clear of public hospitals if you can.

You will also want to seek out facilities that are internationally accredited. In the United States, the Joint Commission evaluates hospitals and certifies those that provide safe, quality care. The international division does the same for hospitals outside the United States.

Once you have a few options for potential facilities, you can start to investigate specifics. For one, you should find as many pictures and reviews of the facility as you can. Ask yourself whether the facility is state of the art or whether it seems dirty and outdated.

You will also need to find out if the facility has ICU level care available, in case something goes wrong. If not, there should be a major hospital nearby so that you can be transferred quickly.

To learn more about a healthcare facility, consider joining expat groups on social media for the city or country you will be traveling to. Ask the group for recommendations, or inquire about any positive or negative experiences they may have had at a particular facility.

Flying Home After Surgery

Any surgery comes with risks, including infection and blood clots . Flying home increases the risk of blood clots, especially on long-haul flights that are longer than four hours.

Try to avoid flying home in the days immediately after surgery; waiting a week will decrease the chances of developing a blood clot or another serious complication during the flight.

For longer flights, plan on getting up and walking up and down the aisles each hour to improve blood flow in your legs. You might also benefit from wearing compression socks with your doctor's approval.

If you are taking blood thinners or are at-risk of blood clots , be sure to talk to your doctor about how you can reduce your risk of blood clots after your procedure and while traveling.

Furthermore, you should know the symptoms of blood clots and stay alert.

Unplanned Illness

Any time you travel abroad, you run the risk of catching an illness that you have never been exposed to or that your body is not prepared to fight off. This is especially a concern when spending time in a foreign hospital.

If you have a sensitive stomach, you may also want to think long and hard about having surgery abroad. The food is often very different in foreign hospitals, and in some areas, there is a risk that even the water will be upsetting to your body.

Having diarrhea or postoperative nausea and vomiting makes for a miserable recovery experience, especially if you do not have a friend or family member nearby who can help you through it.

Before you travel abroad, check with your doctor to see if you need any vaccines to travel to your destination or if there are any foreign illnesses you should be aware of. Picking up an illness abroad, particularly after your surgery, can potentially be life-threatening.

Language Barriers

If you are having surgery in a country where English is not the primary language, you will need to make preparations in order to be able to communicate with the staff.

You may be pleasantly surprised to learn that the staff speaks your primary language well. If not, then you will need to consider how you will make your wishes and needs known to the surgeon, the staff, and others you will meet.

Whether you are at home or abroad, remember to speak up and advocate for yourself to make sure your needs are met. If you don't speak the local language, download a language translation app on your smartphone and don't hesitate to use it to communicate your needs. Hiring a translator is another option.

A Word About Transplant Tourism

Transplant tourism is one area of medical tourism that is strongly discouraged by organ and tissue transplant professionals in multiple countries. Most international transplants are considered “black market” surgeries that are not only poor in quality, but ethically and morally wrong.

China, for example, the country that is believed to perform more international kidney transplants than any other country, is widely believed to take organs from political prisoners after their execution.

In India, living donors are often promised large sums of money for their kidney donation, only to find out they have been scammed and never receive payment. Selling an organ in India is illegal, as it is in most areas of the world, so there is little recourse for the donor.

Then there is the final outcome: how well the organ works after the surgery is complete. With black market transplants, less care is often taken with matching the donor and recipient, which leads to high levels of rejection and a greater risk of death. Furthermore, the new organ may not have been screened for diseases such as cytomegalovirus , tuberculosis , hepatitis B , and hepatitis C . It is often the new disease that leads to death, rather than the organ rejection itself.

Finally, transplant surgeons are often reluctant to care for a patient who intentionally circumvented the donor process in the United States and received their transplant from an unknown physician.

It is important to arrange your follow-up care prior to leaving your home country.

Many physicians and surgeons are hesitant to take care of a patient who received care outside the country, as they are often unfamiliar with medical tourism and have concerns about the quality of care overseas.

Arranging for follow-up care before you leave will make it easier to transition to care at home without the stress of trying to find a physician after surgery .

Just be sure to inform your follow-up care physician where you are having your procedure done. After you return, they will also want to know what prescription medications you were given, if any.

What are popular countries for medical tourism? 

Mexico, India, Costa Rica, Turkey, Singapore, Canada, and Thailand are among the many countries that are popular for medical tourism.

How safe is medical tourism?

Medical tourism is generally considered safe, but it's critical to research the quality of care, physician training, and surgical specialties of each country. There are several medical tourism organizations that specialize in evaluating popular destinations for this purpose.

What countries have free healthcare? 

Countries with free healthcare include England, Canada, Thailand, Mexico, India, Sweden, South Korea, Israel, and many others.

A Word From Verywell

If you are considering medical tourism, discuss the risks and benefits with your doctor, and consider working with your insurance provider to arrange a trip that balances financial savings with safety. (Also, before you embark on a trip overseas for your procedure, make sure you are financially prepared for unexpected events and emergencies. Don't go abroad if you don't have enough money to get yourself home in a crisis.)

A medical tourism organization such as Patients Without Borders can help you evaluate the quality and trustworthiness of healthcare in various countries. Making sure a high level of care is readily available will lead to a safer, more relaxing experience.

Centers For Disease Control and Prevention. Medical Tourism: Getting medical care in another country . Updated October 23, 2017.

University of the Incarnate Word. Center for Medical Tourism Research .

Patients Beyond Borders. Facts and figures .

Kaiser Family Foundation. Health coverage of immigrants . Published July 2021.

Paul DP 3rd, Barker T, Watts AL, Messinger A, Coustasse A. Insurance companies adapting to trends by adopting medical tourism . Health Care Manag (Frederick). 2017 Oct/Dec;36(4):326-333. doi: 10.1097/HCM.0000000000000179

Batista BN. State of plastic surgery in Brazil .  Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open . 2017 Dec;5(12):1627. doi:10.1097/GOX.0000000000001627

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health - Global Health Now. Brazilians' risky right to beauty . Published May 2018.

Chokrungvaranont P, Selvaggi G, Jindarak S, et al. The development of sex reassignment surgery in Thailand: a social perspective .  Sci World J . 2014 Mar;2014(1):1-5. doi:10.1155/2014/182981

The Joint Commission. For consumers .

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Blood clots and travel: what you need to know . Reviewed February 2021.

Hurley R. China harvested organs from political prisoners on substantial scale, says tribunal . BMJ . 2018 Dec;363(1):5250. doi:10.1136/bmj.k5250

Ambagtsheer F, Van Balen L. I'm not Sherlock Holmes: suspicions, secrecy, and silence of transplant professionals in the human organ trade . Euro J Criminol . 2019 Jan;17(6):764-783. doi:10.1177/1477370818825331

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Transplant Surgery. Key facts . Reviewed January 2019.

By Jennifer Whitlock, RN, MSN, FN Jennifer Whitlock, RN, MSN, FNP-C, is a board-certified family nurse practitioner. She has experience in primary care and hospital medicine.

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Medical Tourism: Travel to Another Country for Medical Care

people in airport

Traveling to another country to get medical care can be risky. Learn about the risks and how to minimize them.

Traveling Internationally for Medical Care

Each year, millions of US residents travel to another country for medical care which is called medical tourism. Medical tourists from the United States most commonly travel to Mexico and Canada, and to several other countries in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

The reasons people may seek medical care in another country include:

  • Cost: To get a treatment or procedure that may be cheaper in another country
  • Culture: To receive care from a clinician who shares the traveler’s culture and language
  • Unavailable or unapproved procedures: To get a procedure or therapy that is not available or approved in the United States

The most common procedures that people undergo on medical tourism trips include dental care, cosmetic surgery, fertility treatments, organ and tissue transplantation, and cancer treatment.

Medical Tourism Can Be Risky

The risk of complications depends on the destination, the facility where the procedure is being performed, and whether the traveler is in good health for the procedure(s). Other issues that can increase a traveler’s risk of complications include:

Infectious Diseases.  All medical procedures have some risk of infection. Complications from procedures performed in other countries include wound infections, bloodstream infections, donor-derived infections (in the case of transplantations or transfusions), and diseases such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV.

Antimicrobial resistance.   Highly drug-resistant bacteria and fungi have caused disease outbreaks among medical tourists. Antimicrobial resistance happens when germs develop the ability to not respond to drugs such as antibiotics used to treat infections. Antimicrobial resistance is a global problem. Healthcare facilities in another country may not have adequate infection control practices and medical tourists could be at risk for getting a drug-resistant infection.

Quality of Care. Some countries’ requirements for maintaining licensure, credentialing, and accreditation may also be less than what would be required in the United States. In some countries, counterfeit medicines and lower quality medical devices may be used.

Communication challenges. Communicating with staff at the destination and healthcare facility may be challenging. Receiving care at a facility where you do not speak the language fluently could lead to misunderstandings about your care.

Air Travel.  Flying after surgery can increase the risk for blood clots, including  deep vein thrombosis . Delaying air travel for 10-14 days following major surgeries, particularly those involving the chest, will minimize risks associated with changes in atmospheric pressure.

Continuity of Care.  Travelers may need to get health care in the United States if they develop complications after returning. Follow-up care for complications might be expensive. Treatment might be prolonged and might not be covered by your health insurance.

woman talking to doctor

How You Can Minimize Medical Tourism Risks

Research the clinician and facility.

  • Check the qualifications of the clinician who will be doing the procedure and the credentials of the facility where the procedure will be done. Accrediting groups, including Joint Commission International, DNV GL International Accreditation for Hospitals, and the International Society for Quality in Healthcare, have lists of standards that healthcare facilities need to meet to be accredited. Please note that all surgeries carry the risk of complications and accreditation does not guarantee a positive outcome.
  • If you go to a country where you do not speak the language, determine ahead of time how you will communicate with your clinician and others who will be caring for you.

Before you travel

  • Get a pretravel consultation. See your healthcare provider or a travel medicine clinician at least 4–6 weeks before the trip to discuss general information for healthy travel and learn about specific risks you may face because of your health status, the procedure, and travel before and after the procedure.
  • Obtain international  travel health insurance  that covers medical evacuation back to the United States.
  • Find out what activities are not recommended around the time of the medical procedure, such as swimming or hiking, and plan accordingly.

Maintain your health and medical records

  • Bring copies of your medical records with you, including results of lab tests and other tests related to your condition and care. Inform the medical staff at your destination of allergies you may have.
  • Pack a  travel health kit  with your prescription and over-the-counter medicines in their original packaging. Bring enough medicine to last your whole trip, plus a little extra in case of delays. Also, bring copies of all your prescriptions and a list of medications you take, including their brand names, generic names, manufacturers, and dosages.
  • Get copies of all your medical records from the medical facility at your destination before you return home. You may need to get them translated into English.

Arrange for follow-up care before you travel

  • Identify where you will be staying immediately after the procedure.
  • Make sure you can get any needed follow-up care in the United States. Follow-up care for medical complications can be expensive and might not be covered by your health insurance. Travelers considering procedures outside the United States should understand the potential financial costs associated with follow-up care or emergency care in the event of complications, review their health insurance policies to determine what, if anything, is covered and plan for the possibility of paying for additional care out-of-pocket.
  • Supplemental travel health insurance may also be available to cover follow-up or emergency care from procedures received abroad.

Related Resources

  • CDC Yellow Book: Medical Tourism
  • American Medical Association Ethical Guidance on Medical Tourism
  • Organization for Safety, Asepsis, & Prevention's Traveler’s Guide to Safe Dental Care
  • The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery guidelines for travelers
  • International Travel (US Department of State)
  • Your Health Abroad (US Department of State)

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Top destinations for health tourism

Medical tourism — where patients struggling to afford or find the right treatment at home head overseas — is booming, with many countries jostling to offer high-quality health care at a good price. In 2013, around 900,000 Americans traveled overseas for treatment, according to Patients Beyond Borders, a provider of medical travel information. And that number looks set to increase: 50 million Americans were either uninsured or underinsured for health care in 2013, according to the U.S.'s Medical Tourism Resource Guide.

However, health tourism is not the preserve of Americans — around 8 million patients from across the world seek overseas treatment each year, contributing to a global industry worth $24-$40 billion, says Patients Beyond Borders.

Reasons other than cost to travel overseas for health care include better treatment, as well as avoiding long waiting lists and dodging questions from colleagues and family.

Dentistry and cosmetic treatments in particular are commonly sought abroad. Click ahead to learn more about some of the most popular destinations for health care tourism, according to providers including Patients Beyond Borders and consultancies such as Deloitte.

—By CNBC's Katy Barnato . Follow her on Twitter: @KatyBarnato

Patients Beyond Borders estimates that between 200,000 and 1.1 million patients headed to Mexico for treatment in 2013. The broad range is due to the many undocumented Hispanics living in the states of California, Arizona and Texas who return to Mexico for treatment. What is known is that the country benefits from its proximity to the U.S., with more than 50,000 Americans crossing the border each year purely for dental work, according to Patients Beyond Borders.

Mexico also specializes in weight loss treatment and surgery. Cities near the U.S. border, like Monterrey, Tijuana and Juarez, boast hospitals which offer weight-management programs to obese Americans — at 40-70 percent of the cost of treatment at home, according to Patients Beyond Borders.

( Read more: The best place for private equity? Healthcare )

India's medical tourism market is expected to reach $3.9 billion in 2014, up from $1.9 billion three years ago, according to a 2014 report from Deloitte. More than 250,000 international patients head to the country annually, says Patient Beyond Borders, typically to large cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi.

India has experienced an influx of patients from surrounding countries with less developed health care systems, such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and central Asia. Some come from further afield, including Africa and the Middle East. The country is also becoming popular with Americans, Canadians and Europeans for cost reasons.

Popular treatments to have in India include those for fertility, orthopedic, cardiac and oncology problems and organ transplants. According to the Medical Tourism Resource Guide, a heart valve is worth about $15,000, versus $150,000 in the U.S.

( Read more: India'snew visa rules a 'game changer' for tourism )

Thailand is known for its meticulous cosmetic surgery, including gender reassignment. Up to 1.2 million individuals traveled to the south-east Asian country in 2013, according to Patients Beyond borders.

The Thai capital of Bangkok is home to one of the world's best known hospitals for medical tourists, Bumrungrad International, which has been seeing foreign patients for 20 years. It has over 900 physicians across 55 specialities and sees around 1,000 international patients every day.

Treatment in Thailand comes at 50-70 percent of the cost in the U.S. — and up to 30,000 American health tourists travel there each year, according to the Medical Tourism Research Guide. Bumrungrad International prices a nose job at 169,000 Thai bahts ($5,205) on its website.

( Read more: Thai tourism bane becoming a boon for rivals )

Brazil is another popular destination for cosmetic surgery — unsurprisingly perhaps, given that even Brazil's pets are said to undergo surgical enhancement.

Treatment destinations for humans include the Ivo Pitanguy Clinic in Rio de Janeiro, headed by its namesake, the "king of plastic surgery", Ivo Pitanguy. Among other services, the clinic offers a psychotherapist to help patients adjust to their new look post-surgery. Its average price for rhinoplasty is 28,000 Brazilian reals ($11,841).

Around 180,000 foreign patients went to Brazil last year, according to Patients Beyond Borders and Americans can save between 20 and 30 percent by opting for treatment based in the country.

Building on Singapore's global reputation for high-quality health care, its government is promoting it as a regional center of excellence for general surgery and medicine, as well as cardiology, oncology and organ transplants.

Between 400,000 and 610,000 patients traveled to Singapore for treatment in 2013, according to Patients Beyond Borders, with 70 percent arriving from nearby Indonesia.

The Medical Travel Quality Alliance rated Gleneagles Hospital in Singapore as one of the world's top-10 hospitals for medical tourism last year. It specialities include cardiology, gastroenterology, liver transplants and orthopaedics and it is owned by Parkway Hospital Group, which operates hospitals throughout Asia. An operation to remove damaged cartilage from inside the knee will cost between 10,563 and 13,097 Singapore dollars ($8,330-$10,329).

Another popular destination for Indonesians is Malaysia. Patients Beyond Borders estimates that 80 percent of health tourists who traveled to Malaysia last year were from the nearby country.

The organization describes Malaysia as medical travel's best-kept secrets, "with fluent English spoken everywhere and cost-savings comparable to India, in less culturally jarring settings."

Around 670,000 people travel to Malaysia each year, typically for "executive" healthcare screenings in the cities of Kuala Lumpur or Penang. Patients Beyond Borders estimates that a full screening — including vision, dental, hearing and MRI and PET scans — will cost around $1,500.

United States

Despite the high price of treatment, between 600,000 and 800,000 foreign patients opted for U.S.-based treatment last year, according to Patients Beyond Borders.

Renowned clinics that attract international patients include the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland and Mayo Clinic, which has branches across Arizona, Florida and Minnesota.

"A private U.S. hospital typically offers technologies and surgical expertise considered too expensive or too specialized for patients in many other countries," says Patients Beyond Borders on its website.

The Healthcare Bluebook, which helps U.S. patients find "fair" prices for healthcare, recommends a hip replacement, for instance, should cost around $22,606.

Bordering Greece to the West, Turkey benefits from its proximity to Western Europe and its popularity with Europeans as a general tourist destination. Many European and American-trained doctors are now stationed in the country, and provide cardiac, cancer and orthopedic care.

The country has established itself as a center for eye treatment in particular, and offers inexpensive laser surgery. The Dünyagöz Hospitals Group, for instance, runs eye-care centers across Turkey, as well as Holland, Germany and England, and is a popular choice for foreign patients. It caters to almost 30,000 medical tourists a year from over 100 countries. Laser treatment on both eyes starts at 750 euros ($1,042), including three nights' stay in hospital.

( Read more: Cosmetic surgery sees large bounce in UK )

The ex-Soviet state is popular with German, Austrian and Swiss citizens seeking cheaper dentistry and well-equipped medical facilities near to home. One town — Gyor in northwest Hungary — boasts more than 150 dental clinics serving international patients, according to Patients Beyond Borders.

Cosmetic or restorative dental procedures in Hungary cost between 40 percent and 75 percent of what they would in the U.S., says Patients Beyond Borders.

Other central European countries like Poland and the Czech Republic are also attracting foreign patients — mostly other Europeans — following grants from the European Union to boost their facilities.

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Health Tourism—Subject of Scientific Research: A Literature Review and Cluster Analysis

Michał roman.

1 Department of Tourism, Social Communication and Consulting, Institute of Economics and Finance, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland

Monika Roman

2 Department of Logistics, Institute of Economics and Finance, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Nowoursynowska 166, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland

Monika Wojcieszak-Zbierska

3 Faculty of Economics, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 28, 60-637 Poznań, Poland

Associated Data

Not applicable.

The purpose of this article is to identify main research areas in health tourism in scientific research. The data used in this analysis span from 2000 to 2022, was retrieved from the Web of Science database, and comprises a total of 1493 bibliometric records of publications. The paper includes both a quantitative and a qualitative analysis. The following four main research areas were identified based on the results: (1) patient satisfaction built upon trust; (2) health impacts of the destination (including the economic aspect, which plays a decisive role in choosing a tourism destination); (3) health behavior as a major part of human activity; and (4) traveling with a view to regain one’s health. Note that the limitations of this study—which mostly affect the methodological part—need to be taken into consideration. This is the consequence of the selected publication database and of the search criteria used, such as the publication year or language.

1. Introduction

Travel and tourism, which keeps evolving, is the world’s largest service industry [ 1 , 2 ]. It drives an increase in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in destination countries, while also strongly contributing to their government’s tax income [ 3 ]. The travel and tourism sector is worth USD 7.6 trillion and accounts for more than 10% of the global GDP, 7% of total international trade, and 30% of service exports around the world. Income from tourism also provides an important currency exchange engine for countries worldwide, thus becoming an enabler of economic growth and investments in a number of other sectors. In 2016, tourism grew by 3.1%, which is 2.5% above the growth rate of the global economy [ 4 ].

As the third largest socioeconomic activity in the European Union, tourism is a major contributor to its gross domestic product and employment. While Europe is the world’s most popular tourism destination, it is not the fastest developing region at a global level. It has experienced a decline in its market share, measured by the visits of and income from international tourists [ 5 ]. In 2018, Europe had the world’s largest number of international visitors (713 million, i.e., more than half of the global total) and saw a growth rate of 6% [ 2 ].

Tourism is a sector whose income keeps increasing [ 6 ]. It forms a major part of many economies, while also having a considerable impact on human (including inter-generational) relationships and on global international connections. At a global level, tourism is viewed as a sector of extreme importance, as it brings crucial benefits to the economy [ 7 ]. Each year, it generates ca. 10% of the global GDP, making it the third largest sector of the economy [ 8 ]. In this context, it mostly performs a macroeconomic function, as it stimulates the socioeconomic development of a country by adding value, which translates into an increase in gross domestic product [ 9 , 10 ].

Tourism is among the largest and fastest developing sectors of the global economy [ 11 ]. By creating jobs, driving revenues from exports, and boosting investments and infrastructural development, tourism both directly and indirectly contributes in a significant way to socioeconomic processes. Note, however, that the COVID-19 pandemic had a disastrous effect on tourism development worldwide [ 12 ].

Even prior to COVID-19, global tourism was facing a number of crises. The main breakthrough events from 2000–2015 include the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003, the global economic crisis in 2008/2009, and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2015 [ 13 ].

However, none of the crises listed above resulted in a prolonged global decline in tourism development. Only SARS (−0.4%) and the global economic crisis (−4.0%) entailed a drop in the number of international airline travelers. This would suggest that tourism, as a system, is robust to external shocks. However, there is overwhelming evidence that the consequences of and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will be of an unprecedented nature. This is why health tourism has recently become increasingly popular. Society needs some rest and support in the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions, which members can find in a number of locations, including rural areas [ 13 ].

Tourism has a series of important social functions [ 14 ]. Because of the number of purposes it serves, there are ten to twenty classifications of tourism traffic, which are additionally sub-divided into subtypes, kinds, or specific forms [ 15 ].

This includes health tourism, often referred to as therapeutic tourism. Różycki [ 16 ] identifies two more alternative terms: spa tourism and curative tourism (sometimes, in a broader sense, also referred to as health tourism). Although known for quite a long time, it has become particularly popular over the recent years, and is intended to recover and revitalize the body [ 17 ].

Indeed, as people are always in a hurry, they look for ways to alleviate the stress and take care of their mental and physical health [ 18 ]. The increased interest in healthy lifestyles, combined with physical and intellectual activity, has directly contributed to changing the existing patterns of spending free time [ 19 ]. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to identify main research areas in health tourism in scientific research based on the current literature review.

2. Literature Review on Health Tourism

Society demonstrates a growing health awareness [ 20 , 21 ]. Health is believed to be the most important and most precious thing for human life and development, and it can be neither purchased from nor sold to another person [ 22 ]. It represents individual wealth and a private value attributed to a particular human being [ 23 ]. In order for working people to maintain their health in physical, mental, spiritual (related to individual and social awareness), and social terms, they need to relax in their free time, because, otherwise, their bodies may become weaker and exposed to illnesses in the long run [ 24 ].

Claiming that “health is something you either have or do not have” is overly simplistic [ 25 ]. Health is something that needs to be taken care of on a continuous basis; people must seek their well-being, have their illnesses (if any) cured, make their bodies fitter, and—first of all—prevent diseases [ 26 ]. The increased interest in healthy lifestyles, combined with physical and intellectual activity, contributes directly to changing the existing patterns of spending free time. This means shifting from the 3S (Sun, Sea, Sand) model to the 3E (Entertainment, Excitement, Education) and 3A (Action, Amusement, Adventure) models [ 27 ].

As society ages, tourists look for diverse forms of active leisure that will improve their physical and mental condition while allowing their bodies to recover [ 28 ]. As today’s society becomes increasingly wealthy, people demonstrate greater demand for luxury goods and services related to improving their health condition. The increased interest in health tourism is viewed as one of the key developments witnessed in the market for tourism services [ 29 ]. Table 1 presents some selected definitions of health tourism.

Selected definitions of health tourism found in the relevant literature.

Source: [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ].

Health tourism is a combination of active leisure, prevention, and treatment [ 38 ]. Could it become an important driver of rural development? Indeed, it should develop on environmentally sound areas and has a direct impact on the economic development of the territory concerned [ 39 ].

The forms of health tourism are shaped and directly implied by the motives behind it, including [ 40 ]:

  • post-illness and post-trauma recovery,
  • the desire to remove the adverse consequences of stress,
  • anti-ageing and beauty treatments (including plastic surgery),
  • fighting addictions,
  • the decision to improve one’s health condition by undergoing a specialized healthcare intervention or operation in a relaxed atmosphere in an environment not resembling a hospital,
  • a way of accessing increasingly diverse complementary therapies related to preventive healthcare measures.

Health tourism can be divided into the following types, as shown in Figure 1 .

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is ijerph-20-00480-g001.jpg

Division of health tourism. Source: [ 37 , 41 ].

Health tourism has become more popular in the post-2000 era [ 42 ] because society increasingly often needs physical and mental leisure. Furthermore, there is noticeable development in the market of services for disabled tourists.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. research methodology.

The aim of the article was achieved on the basis of a review of the current literature on medical tourism based on the SotA procedure, as detailed by Barry et al. [ 43 ]. The study used bibliometric methods in order to facilitate the analysis of a large number of publications [ 44 ]. The authors relied on descriptive bibliometrics in analyzing the scientific research trends and in identifying the right scientists and research centers [ 45 , 46 ].

The following tools and techniques were used in the bibliometric analysis: analysis of changes in the number of publications; citation analysis; and the co-word method. The analysis of changes in the number of publications and citations allowed identification of the trends and determination of the levels of knowledge transfer and dissemination by representatives of different scientific centers. In turn, the co-word analysis enabled the identification of main thematic areas addressed in health tourism publications with the use of a cluster analysis method developed by Zhu et al. [ 47 ]. The clustering was estimated with VOSviewer (Visualising Scientific Landscapes) version 1.6.18 (2022) [ 48 ], a tool for building and visualizing bibliometric networks that is capable of handling large text files with descriptions of bibliographic records from well-known databases, including the Web of Science (WoS).

3.2. Data Collection and Research Tasks

The data used in this analysis were retrieved from the Web of Science database on November 15, 2022. Web of Science is one of the major search engines for scientific sources, and it offers a wide variety of documents. The fundamental issue in searching for records is to identify the keywords believed to be of relevance for the problem concerned [ 49 ]. The analysis covered papers with the following expressions in their titles: “health tourism,” “medical tourism,” “spa tourism,” and “spa and wellness.” Only articles that were grouped in the "title" section have been addressed.

This resulted in retrieving a set of 1533 publications, which were then subject to a refined selection process based on the following limitative criteria:

  • (1) date published: the study took account of papers published between 2000 and 2022;
  • (2) publication type: the study took account of papers published in reviewed scientific journals and books;
  • (3) publication subject: the study took account of publications focused on selected keywords.

After applying the limitative criteria, the dataset comprised 1493 publications.

As the next step, the authors tried to discover the general trend in the number of publications and citations, and to identify the main researchers, centers, countries, journals, and research areas related to health tourism.

4.1. General Trend in Health Tourism Publications

Figure 2 presents the number of WoS publications addressing health tourism from 2000–2022. Note that the interest in the topic covered by this analysis follows a steady growth trend. Three sub-periods of development of health tourism publications can be identified: (1) small interest: 2000–2009; (2) medium interest: 2010–2018; (3) high interest: 2019–2022 (with an average of 140 papers per year). The significant growth in the number of publications over the last years can be explained by greater care in addressing health tourism issues.

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is ijerph-20-00480-g002.jpg

Number of health tourism publications from 2000–2022. Source: own elaboration based on the dedicated database.

The growing interest in health tourism topics justifies the need for a review with a structured approach to the most recent literature and for identification of future areas of research in that domain.

The largest number of papers were written in English (1343). The database also included articles written in Spanish (68), German (21), Russian (10), Chinese (7), French (6), Croatian (6), Portuguese (6), Czech (5), and Italian (4).

Most publications addressed such research topics as social sciences, business economics, and public environmental occupational health ( Table 2 ).

Top ten research areas related to health tourism.

Source: own elaboration based on the dedicated database.

Table 2 suggests that the authors represented various fields of research. However, a large number of publications addressed topics related to medical sciences, e.g., public environmental occupational health, healthcare, and internal medicine.

4.2. Web of Science Categories

The next step consisted of dividing the scientific publications into Web of Science categories ( Table 3 ).

Web of Science categories.

Most publications (as many as 411) fell into the category of “Hospitality Leisure Sport Tourism”.

4.3. Analysis of Publication Sources

The most popular journals with health tourism papers include Sustainability, Tourism Management, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Iranian Journal of Public Health , and International Journal of Healthcare Management ( Table 4 ).

Scientific journals with the largest number of health tourism publications.

The most popular publishers include Taylor & Francis, Elsevier, Springer Nature, and Emerald Group Publishing ( Table 5 ).

Publishers with the largest number of health tourism publications.

The next step was to present publication authors, their countries of origin, and their affiliations.

4.4. Analysis of Publications by Country and Research Center

The greatest number of health tourism publications were authored by Jeremy Snyder ( Table 6 ).

Authors of health tourism publications.

Most authors of health tourism publications originate from the United States and China. Many other publications were related to authors coming from countries such as Malaysia, United Kingdom, and Canada ( Table 7 ).

Number of publications by country.

The next step focused on analyzing the research centers. Note that research on health tourism was highly dispersed, with the largest number of papers published by employees of Simon Fraser University ( Table 8 ).

Number of publications by research center.

The authors also represented the State University System of Florida, the Ministry of Education Science of Ukraine, and the University of London.

4.5. Analysis of Main Research Areas

The next step in identifying the research areas related to health tourism was the co-word analysis, which served as a basis for the subsequent cluster analysis. Note that the co-word or co-occurrence analysis is a technique that allows examining the actual content of a publication [ 50 ]. It uses words derived from the keywords defined by the author(s), and it can also be employed in analyzing words contained in the paper’s keywords, title, abstract, or index, and even in its full text [ 51 ]. As a consequence, a thematic relation can be established between frequently co-occurring words, which allows identifying thematic clusters and outlining the trends of future research areas.

The co-word analysis was performed as follows:

  • Retrieving database records using criteria detailed in the Methodology section.
  • Exporting data, including authors’ names, title, abstract, keywords, and references.
  • Mapping the relationships that underpin the thematic clusters. The analysis of frequencies was carried out for a set of keywords that occurred in no less than ten phrases.
  • Analyzing the results.

Figure 3 presents the visualization of keywords for the “health tourism” thematic area, with “travel”, “health-care”, “care”, “health”, “satisfaction”, “impact”, “model”, “quality” and “destination” as the most frequent occurrences.

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is ijerph-20-00480-g003.jpg

Co-Word Cluster Map. Source: own elaboration based on the dedicated database.

The co-word analysis identified four research clusters related to the topic of health tourism ( Figure 3 ).

Cluster 1 (green): patient satisfaction built upon trust; Cluster 2 (yellow): health impacts of the destination; Cluster 3 (blue): health behavior as a major part of human activity; and Cluster 4 (red): traveling with a view to regain one’s health.

5. Discussion

5.1. cluster 1 (green): patient satisfaction built upon trust.

The first cluster covered by the analysis dealt with medical sciences because it was related to patient satisfaction built upon trust in healthcare institutions. Highly interesting research on these matters was presented in a paper by Khodadad Hosseini and Behboudi [ 52 ]. Their goal was to examine the impacts of brand trust on a population of healthcare service users. Nowadays, healthcare managers and activists tend to increasingly rely on marketing and branding measures in order to attract and satisfy their customers. Hence, the study focused on a conceptual model designed to assess brand trust and the impact of brand image on customer satisfaction. Data were sourced from 240 survey questionnaires. The study found the following to be the most efficient aspects with the greatest impact on customer satisfaction and use of healthcare services: brand image; personnel’s sincerity in handling patients; and interactions and relationships with doctors. The authors believe that identifying important elements related to healthcare branding helps healthcare managers and operators create and protect their brands and, as a consequence, drives an increase in profitability due to greater consumer satisfaction.

Highly interesting findings on how to build patient satisfaction were brought by Liu, Ching-Yick Tse, and He [ 53 ]. The purpose of their study was to compare the impacts of health-related corporate social responsibility (CSR) factors on the intents of casual restaurant customers in the U.S. and China. They adopted an approach based on survey questionnaires to collect data in both countries. A total of 828 complete answers were used to validate the hypotheses through the modeling of structural equations. The results revealed some considerable differences in replies between the two countries. The research framework underpinning health-related CSR aspects, critical variables, and relationships among them was subject to a theoretical test and verification procedure. From a practical point of view, these findings allow the management to develop efficient (yet different) market strategies in order to promote CSR initiatives among consumers with a different cultural, political, and economic background (such as the U.S. and China) in order to increase financial benefits while building consumer satisfaction and loyalty. This is one of the few empirical studies on the impacts of consumer decision-making factors on culinary behaviors based on how the restaurants present their health-related CSR initiatives in countries with different market environments.

5.2. Cluster 2 (Yellow): Health Impacts of Holiday Destinations

In recent years, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of people traveling for health reasons [ 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 ]. Many scientists indicate that domestic and international health destinations are attractive mostly because of the differences in prices of products and services offered [ 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 ]. According to [ 62 , 63 ], a broad range of tourism services and products—combined with the patients and their accompanying persons having an enjoyable stay in a tourist destination—has a clear positive effect on their health. Another aspect of importance to tourists [ 63 ] is the destination itself and its surroundings.

One of the very few positive consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic is people becoming environmentally committed and interested in nature. An interesting study on this was presented by Allison Williams and Rannveig Ólafsdóttir (2022), who indicate that traveling has become possible again, and, thus, people can restart using healthcare tourism services based on natural assets viewed from a therapeutic perspective. Their research suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to drawing a number of conclusions. First, people realized that they can work remotely from any location (obviously depending on the nature of their work). Second, as they rely on innovative solutions to communicate with others (and for other purposes), they started to appreciate the benefits derived from modern technologies. Third, they started to value and pay particular attention to their health. The last aspect indicated by the researchers were natural values. The COVID-19 era saw a breakthrough in tourism because the traveling restrictions and social isolation made people appreciate nature and enjoy leisure in a natural environment. Similar conclusions were presented in a case study for Poland by Wojcieszak-Zbierska et al. [ 64 ], who demonstrated that at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people decided to spend their free time on agritourism farms because they found it to be the right option for them and, most of all, to be a safe form of leisure. The study also highlighted that staying on agritourism farms had a beneficial impact on the visitors’ recovery and health. Another important aspect addressed by Xiang Yan and Shenjing He [ 65 ] is the way of financing a stay, which is expected to improve one’s physical and mental health. The authors noted that tourists increasingly often opt for staying in an attractive location, which is supposed to meet their specific individual needs related to maintaining a good physical and mental state while having a thrilling experience. The thing that matters to tourists is the destination, whereas financial resources are often a secondary concern.

As shown by the analysis of international papers, including by Aikaterini Manthiou, Volker G. Kuppelwieser and Phil Klaus; Agapito, D., Mendes, J. and Valle, P.; Cetin, G., Bilgihan, A. [ 66 , 67 , 68 ], respectively, the location of a tourist destination is of tremendous importance to the visitors’ health. This is mostly due to the growing value and importance of needs (especially including higher-order needs) and changes in the structure of the population’s needs and preferences that have been witnessed over the last ten to twenty years. These developments largely affect today’s social consumption model, which triggers changes in the service market and in the production and supply of goods. There is continuous growth in the capacity to meet a broad range of needs, and consumers keep changing their inclinations, preferences, and even habits. In turn, it follows from a study by Hung, W. L., Lee, Y. J., Huang, P. H.; Rodríguez Molina, M. Á., Frías-Jamilena, D. M., Castañeda-García, J. A. [ 69 , 70 ], respectively, that consumer expectations are no longer limited to having a place to rest. Visitors also want their destination to add value through positive emotions, experiences, education, and improved health.

5.3. Cluster 3 (Blue): Health Behaviors as an Important Part of Human Activity (Including the Economic Aspect, Which Plays a Decisive Role in Choosing a Tourism Destination)

Today’s lifestyle concept attracts constant interest from researchers around the world [ 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 ]. Its definition encompasses the whole range of an individual’s characteristic daily behaviors, which express his/her personality traits. The concept has strongly gained in popularity over recent years because of intense changes in two areas of human life: health and consumption of goods and services. As rightly noted in a number of studies, including by Han H. and Heung V., Kucukusta D., Song H. [ 76 , 77 ], respectively, currently, people can be observed to attach greater importance to their own safety and wellbeing when traveling and upon arrival at a holiday destination. This can be explained largely by the COVID-19 pandemic situation, which has certainly reinforced the changes in health habits related to the adherence to hygiene and sanitary standards at tourism destinations. Health behaviors mean those related to human health; the literature on the subject divides them into health-promoting and self-destructive actions. A number of researchers, including Hofer S., Honegger F., Hubeli J. and Hopkins L., Labonte R., Runnels V., Packer C. [ 78 , 79 ], respectively, emphasize that in order to discuss the changes in health-related behavior, it is necessary to gain in-depth knowledge of the underlying mechanisms. As there is growth in demand for diverse forms of health tourism (including medical tourism), there is also a restructuring of the tourism product offered. According to Białk-Wolf, A., Arent, M., Buziewicz, A. and Alejziak W. [ 27 , 80 ], respectively, many tourists today realize the positive role of physical activity. For a modern human, proper nutrition habits, a positive mental attitude (especially after the aggravation of the COVID-19 pandemic), reliable information, preventive healthcare, and physical activity itself play an important role in improving his/her living conditions. Hence, health behaviors are undoubtedly a major part of today’s human activity.

In turn, another issue was addressed by Forgione DA, Smith PC.; Bagozzi, R. P., Gurhan-Canli, Z. and Priester, J. R.; Lam, T. and Hsu, C. H. C.; March, R. and Woodside, G. [ 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 ], respectively. who found that demand- and supply-side changes in today’s tourism market are driven by changes to the tourist’s purchasing behavior. According to them, there is change in the forms of travel organization; in the quality, duration, and frequency of traveling; and in the ways and forms of spending free time. Consumers increasingly often opt for leisure scenarios that involve physical activity. Many researchers also focused their attention on one more aspect. Namely, according to Hudson S., Xiang R.L.; Heather Hartwell, Alan Fyall, Cheryl Willis, Stephen Page, Adele Ladkin, Ann Hemingway; Allison Drinkert, Neha Singh; Ediansyah, Mts Arief, Mohammad Hamsal, Sri Bramantoro Abdinagoro; Yingru Li, Lin Liu, Jianguo Chen, Jiewen Zhang [ 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 ], respectively, despite society becoming increasingly aware of the importance of healthcare, there still is need for social education on how to take care of one’s health condition. In turn, Chihiro Morito and Sunildro LS Akoijam, Tabassum Khan [ 90 , 91 ], respectively, note that building adequate levels of awareness of one’s own health behaviors is of key importance, as it drives health-promoting attitudes. Health behavior is also related to a social and cultural context [ 91 ]. Culture has an impact on a number of aspects, including the standards of living and lifestyle of a community, how much they know about their health habits, and how they perceive their health [ 92 , 93 , 94 ]. The use of media in shaping health-promoting attitudes also plays an important role. The technological and technical development, combined with state-of-the-art social messengers, is what makes media an important stream of information, including about health. Hence, social campaigns ran on the TV, radio, FB, and Instagram are designed to make the information reach a wide audience [ 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 ].

5.4. Cluster 4 (Red): Traveling with a View to Regain One’s Health

Tourism is a form of physical activity [ 100 , 101 , 102 , 103 , 104 , 105 ] that consists in traveling away from one’s place of permanent residence to rest or explore. It includes business trips, as well as holiday, health, and other travels with accommodation away from home. According to the literature on the subject, health tourism means curative tourism, spa and wellness tourism, and medical tourism [ 106 , 107 ]. As shown in a study by Kachniewska [ 108 ], it develops in response to today’s social and demographic changes (including needs related to diseases of affluence and ageing societies), while also triggering the potential for new consumer needs and trends. An interesting aspect was also presented in studies by Saint-Pierre, C.; Herskovic, V.; Roberts, F.S.; Darbellay, F.; Stock, M.; Neil Lunt, Percivil Carrera; Tze-Jen Pan, Wen-Chang Chen [ 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 ], respectively, who indicated a new trend emerging in health tourism. It suggests that in addition to products and services, tourists also buy the accompanying experiences, emotions, and sensations when traveling. According to the researchers, the consumers’ health-oriented trips should be connected to a holiday destination that offers appropriate values (e.g., environmental benefits: clean air, favorable climate, mineral waters, etc.), while also delivering some components that affect emotions. Traveling is supposed to be interesting, pleasant, and engaging. Therefore, studies by Pearce, P.L; Buda, D. [ 115 , 116 ], respectively, reveal yet another crucial factor that guides health-oriented trips. The authors mostly focused on explaining the roles and importance of sophisticated technologies and techniques, which make it possible for today’s consumers to travel long distances with the use of state-of-the-art tools.

Nowadays, people expect to be able to relax in a healthy and active way in urban and rural areas. The tourism sector is currently focused on offering a customized portfolio composed of medical, spa, wellness, and other services [ 117 , 118 , 119 ]. People travel to clinics, spa resorts, and sanatoriums (go on therapeutic trips) for different reasons and want to improve their health status by undergoing professional rehabilitation or treatment programs [ 120 ]. An important topic addressed by Neil Lunt and Percivil Carrera was the context of how medical tourists finance their travels. According to them, some tourists rely on social health programs, while others use their own resources (pay out of pocket for accessing dentist, beauty, and programmed treatments). The authors indicate that as a consequence of administrative and legal regulations, tourists very often rely on their own funds in paying for medical services (especially in Europe), which can be viewed as a financial disharmony. They also note that there is still confusion as to the rights of patients who travel abroad, e.g., in order to receive a treatment.

6. Conclusions

The recent years have seen growing interest in and importance of health tourism. A healthy lifestyle, as currently developed around the globe, is at the very core of today’s social changes. It promotes physical and mental fitness; determines the condition of an individual’s body; affects people’s pace of work, efficiency, and mental capacity; and conditions their creativity and ability to take action.

This paper was a review of the current literature on medical tourism. It provided a basis for identifying four research clusters spanning the following content: patient satisfaction built upon trust; health impacts of the destination (including the economic aspect, which plays a decisive role in choosing a tourism destination); health behavior as a major part of human activity; and traveling with a view to regain one’s health. This study provides grounds for some conclusions. First, health tourism contributes to improvements in individuals’ mental and physical health; in that context, an important role is played by the behavioral and emotional dimension and by the experience lived in a tourism destination. Another important aspect to humans is the destination itself and its surroundings, where visitors can undergo a variety of medical and curative procedures and—first of all—take care of their health and recover their vitality. Health-oriented trips, especially in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic, changed the way tourists behave when their own safety is concerned. It means that they expect their hosts to guarantee a safe and peaceful experience during their stay.

The authors realize certain restrictions affecting this study, but believe that a further analysis would provide valuable grounds for continued in-depth scientific research. Indeed, there is a great need for more research on health tourism based on knowledge resources shared between tourism and related sciences.

Funding Statement

This research received no external funding.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, M.R. (Michał Roman) and M.R. (Monika Roman); methodology M.R. (Monika Roman); software, M.R. (Michał Roman) and M.R. (Monika Roman); validation M.R. (Monika Roman); formal analysis, M.R. (Michał Roman) and M.R. (Monika Roman); investigation, M.R. (Michał Roman) and M.R. (Monika Roman); resources, M.R. (Michał Roman) and M.R. (Monika Roman); data curation, M.R. (Michał Roman) and M.R. (Monika Roman); writing—original draft preparation, M.R. (Michał Roman), M.R. (Monika Roman), and M.W.-Z.; writing—review and editing, M.R. (Monika Roman); visualization, M.R. (Michał Roman), M.R. (Monika Roman), and M.W.-Z.; supervision, M.R. (Monika Roman); project administration, M.R. (Michał Roman); funding acquisition, M.R. (Michał Roman), M.R. (Monika Roman), and M.W.-Z. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Passing Thru Travel

Passing Thru Travel

Top Destinations for Health and Medical Tourism in 2024

Posted: February 15, 2024 | Last updated: February 15, 2024

<p><strong>Health and medical tourism has become increasingly popular in recent years, with many people traveling abroad for high-quality medical treatments, wellness retreats, and alternative therapies. These destinations offer top-notch medical services and a chance to recuperate in a relaxing environment. This guide takes you through 15 global destinations renowned for their medical and wellness services.</strong></p>

Health and medical tourism has become increasingly popular in recent years, with many people traveling abroad for high-quality medical treatments, wellness retreats, and alternative therapies. These destinations offer top-notch medical services and a chance to recuperate in a relaxing environment. This guide takes you through 15 global destinations renowned for their medical and wellness services.

<p><span>You’ll discover a world-renowned center for medical tourism in Bangkok where cutting-edge healthcare meets affordability and exceptional service. As you navigate the city, you’ll find state-of-the-art hospitals and clinics offering a wide range of medical treatments, from cosmetic surgery and dental care to comprehensive health check-ups. These facilities are known for their highly trained medical professionals, many of whom have international experience and qualifications.</span></p> <p><span>The allure of Bangkok for medical tourism isn’t just in the cost savings but also in the opportunity to recuperate in a vibrant city known for its rich culture, delicious cuisine, and warm hospitality. Whether you’re exploring the bustling streets, relaxing in a luxurious hotel, or enjoying a tranquil recovery by the picturesque Chao Phraya River, Bangkok provides an ideal setting for both your medical and travel needs. You could even head to one of the southernmost islands, such as Koh Samui, for rest and recuperation.</span></p> <p><b>Services: </b><span>Cosmetic surgery, dental care, and wellness retreats.</span></p> <p><b>Insider’s Tip: </b><span>Many hospitals offer packages, including post-treatment recovery in luxury accommodations.</span></p> <p><b>How To Get There: </b><span>Fly into Suvarnabhumi Airport, served by many international airlines.</span></p>

Bangkok, Thailand

You’ll discover a world-renowned center for medical tourism in Bangkok where cutting-edge healthcare meets affordability and exceptional service. As you navigate the city, you’ll find state-of-the-art hospitals and clinics offering a wide range of medical treatments, from cosmetic surgery and dental care to comprehensive health check-ups. These facilities are known for their highly trained medical professionals, many of whom have international experience and qualifications.

The allure of Bangkok for medical tourism isn’t just in the cost savings but also in the opportunity to recuperate in a vibrant city known for its rich culture, delicious cuisine, and warm hospitality. Whether you’re exploring the bustling streets, relaxing in a luxurious hotel, or enjoying a tranquil recovery by the picturesque Chao Phraya River, Bangkok provides an ideal setting for both your medical and travel needs. You could even head to one of the southernmost islands, such as Koh Samui, for rest and recuperation.

Services: Cosmetic surgery, dental care, and wellness retreats.

Insider’s Tip: Many hospitals offer packages, including post-treatment recovery in luxury accommodations.

How To Get There: Fly into Suvarnabhumi Airport, served by many international airlines.

<p><span>Budapest has carved a niche for itself in the world of medical tourism, particularly noted for its excellent dental care and historic thermal baths. Here, you’ll find top-notch dental clinics offering a range of services at prices significantly lower than in many Western countries without compromising on quality or expertise.</span></p> <p><span>Beyond dental care, Budapest is famed for its thermal baths, sourced from natural hot springs, known for their therapeutic properties. These baths are not just about relaxation; they’re a traditional form of wellness deeply ingrained in the city’s culture. While benefiting from affordable, high-quality medical services, you also get to immerse yourself in the charm of a city that seamlessly blends its rich history with a vibrant contemporary lifestyle.</span></p> <p><span>Wandering through Budapest’s grand architecture and along the Danube, you’ll experience this beautiful city’s unique blend of wellness and culture.</span></p> <p><b>Services: </b><span>Dental care and thermal baths for wellness.</span></p> <p><b>Insider’s Tip: </b><span>Schedule visits to thermal baths for natural healing.</span></p> <p><b>How To Get There: </b><span>Fly to Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport.</span></p>

Budapest, Hungary

Budapest has carved a niche for itself in the world of medical tourism, particularly noted for its excellent dental care and historic thermal baths. Here, you’ll find top-notch dental clinics offering a range of services at prices significantly lower than in many Western countries without compromising on quality or expertise.

Beyond dental care, Budapest is famed for its thermal baths, sourced from natural hot springs, known for their therapeutic properties. These baths are not just about relaxation; they’re a traditional form of wellness deeply ingrained in the city’s culture. While benefiting from affordable, high-quality medical services, you also get to immerse yourself in the charm of a city that seamlessly blends its rich history with a vibrant contemporary lifestyle.

Wandering through Budapest’s grand architecture and along the Danube, you’ll experience this beautiful city’s unique blend of wellness and culture.

Services: Dental care and thermal baths for wellness.

Insider’s Tip: Schedule visits to thermal baths for natural healing.

How To Get There: Fly to Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport.

<p><span>Seoul is a global leader in medical tourism, especially renowned for its advancements in cosmetic surgery and dermatology. As you explore Seoul, you’ll encounter state-of-the-art medical facilities that offer a wide array of cosmetic procedures, from innovative skincare treatments to high-precision plastic surgeries, all performed by highly skilled doctors. </span><span>These clinics often combine the latest technology with a personalized approach, ensuring both top-quality results and a comfortable experience.</span></p> <p><span>The city itself, a blend of modernity and tradition, provides an exciting backdrop for your medical journey. Whether you’re recovering in a luxury hotel or exploring vibrant neighborhoods like Gangnam, known for its high concentration of clinics, Seoul offers a unique experience where cutting-edge medical care meets rich cultural exploration. This fusion of high-tech healthcare and dynamic urban life makes Seoul a compelling destination for anyone seeking medical services in a cosmopolitan setting.</span></p> <p><b>Services: </b><span>Advanced plastic surgery and dermatological treatments.</span></p> <p><b>Insider’s Tip: </b><span>Explore Gangnam district, known for its high concentration of clinics.</span></p> <p><b>How To Get There: </b><span>Fly into Incheon International Airport.</span></p>

Seoul, South Korea

Seoul is a global leader in medical tourism, especially renowned for its advancements in cosmetic surgery and dermatology. As you explore Seoul, you’ll encounter state-of-the-art medical facilities that offer a wide array of cosmetic procedures, from innovative skincare treatments to high-precision plastic surgeries, all performed by highly skilled doctors. These clinics often combine the latest technology with a personalized approach, ensuring both top-quality results and a comfortable experience.

The city itself, a blend of modernity and tradition, provides an exciting backdrop for your medical journey. Whether you’re recovering in a luxury hotel or exploring vibrant neighborhoods like Gangnam, known for its high concentration of clinics, Seoul offers a unique experience where cutting-edge medical care meets rich cultural exploration. This fusion of high-tech healthcare and dynamic urban life makes Seoul a compelling destination for anyone seeking medical services in a cosmopolitan setting.

Services: Advanced plastic surgery and dermatological treatments.

Insider’s Tip: Explore Gangnam district, known for its high concentration of clinics.

How To Get There: Fly into Incheon International Airport.

<p><span>Find a serene and lush paradise that has become a sought-after destination for medical tourism, known for its affordable yet high-quality medical services in Costa Rica. As you explore this Central American gem, you’ll discover a range of medical offerings, from dental procedures to cosmetic surgeries, all provided in state-of-the-art facilities by experienced healthcare professionals.</span></p> <p><span>What sets Costa Rica apart is its ability to combine medical treatments with a chance to recuperate in a tranquil, natural setting. Imagine recovering amidst the backdrop of rainforests, pristine beaches, and rich biodiversity. This harmonious blend of top-tier medical care and a peaceful environment enhances your recovery and offers a unique opportunity to experience the pura vida lifestyle for which Costa Rica is renowned. Your journey to wellness in Costa Rica is complemented by warm hospitality and the chance to indulge in eco-friendly and wellness-oriented activities, making it a holistic health and travel experience.</span></p> <p><b>Services: </b><span>Dental work and cosmetic surgery in a natural, tranquil setting.</span></p> <p><b>Insider’s Tip: </b><span>Combine your medical trip with a stay near the beach or rainforest for relaxation.</span></p> <p><b>How To Get There: </b><span>Fly into Juan Santamaría International Airport.</span></p>

Find a serene and lush paradise that has become a sought-after destination for medical tourism, known for its affordable yet high-quality medical services in Costa Rica. As you explore this Central American gem, you’ll discover a range of medical offerings, from dental procedures to cosmetic surgeries, all provided in state-of-the-art facilities by experienced healthcare professionals.

What sets Costa Rica apart is its ability to combine medical treatments with a chance to recuperate in a tranquil, natural setting. Imagine recovering amidst the backdrop of rainforests, pristine beaches, and rich biodiversity. This harmonious blend of top-tier medical care and a peaceful environment enhances your recovery and offers a unique opportunity to experience the pura vida lifestyle for which Costa Rica is renowned. Your journey to wellness in Costa Rica is complemented by warm hospitality and the chance to indulge in eco-friendly and wellness-oriented activities, making it a holistic health and travel experience.

Services: Dental work and cosmetic surgery in a natural, tranquil setting.

Insider’s Tip: Combine your medical trip with a stay near the beach or rainforest for relaxation.

How To Get There: Fly into Juan Santamaría International Airport.

<p><span>In Mumbai, India, you’ll find yourself in a bustling metropolis that has emerged as a key destination for medical tourism, attracting patients worldwide with its combination of high-quality healthcare and affordability. The city’s medical facilities are equipped with advanced technology and staffed by skilled healthcare professionals, many of whom have trained internationally.</span></p> <p><span>Mumbai specializes in a range of medical fields, including cardiac surgery, orthopedics, and transplants, offering services at a fraction of the cost compared to Western countries. Beyond the clinical aspect, Mumbai is a city steeped in culture and history, offering you a chance to experience the vibrant life of one of India’s most dynamic cities.</span></p> <p><span>Whether you’re exploring the bustling markets, soaking in the diverse cultural heritage, or enjoying the local cuisine, Mumbai provides an enriching backdrop to your medical journey, blending world-class medical care with the warmth and vibrancy of Indian hospitality.</span></p> <p><b>Services: </b><span>High-quality cardiac surgery, orthopedics, and alternative medicine.</span></p> <p><b>Insider’s Tip: </b><span>Explore Ayurvedic retreats for holistic wellness.</span></p> <p><b>How To Get There: </b><span>Fly to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.</span></p>

Mumbai, India

In Mumbai, India, you’ll find yourself in a bustling metropolis that has emerged as a key destination for medical tourism, attracting patients worldwide with its combination of high-quality healthcare and affordability. The city’s medical facilities are equipped with advanced technology and staffed by skilled healthcare professionals, many of whom have trained internationally.

Mumbai specializes in a range of medical fields, including cardiac surgery, orthopedics, and transplants, offering services at a fraction of the cost compared to Western countries. Beyond the clinical aspect, Mumbai is a city steeped in culture and history, offering you a chance to experience the vibrant life of one of India’s most dynamic cities.

Whether you’re exploring the bustling markets, soaking in the diverse cultural heritage, or enjoying the local cuisine, Mumbai provides an enriching backdrop to your medical journey, blending world-class medical care with the warmth and vibrancy of Indian hospitality.

Services: High-quality cardiac surgery, orthopedics, and alternative medicine.

Insider’s Tip: Explore Ayurvedic retreats for holistic wellness.

How To Get There: Fly to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.

<p><span>Istanbul is at the crossroads of East and West, a city that has become a prominent hub for medical tourism, especially known for its hair transplantation and cosmetic dentistry expertise. As you navigate through Istanbul’s unique blend of historical grandeur and modern sophistication, you’ll find numerous clinics and hospitals offering high-quality medical services at competitive prices. </span></p> <p><span>These facilities are often equipped with the latest technology and staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized care. Its rich cultural tapestry enhances Istanbul’s appeal as a medical tourism destination, with landmarks such as the Hagia Sophia and the Grand Bazaar. Here, you can seamlessly combine your medical journey with the experience of exploring one of the world’s most historically rich and diverse cities.</span></p> <p><span>Whether you’re strolling along the Bosphorus or savoring Turkish cuisine, Istanbul offers a unique setting where a wealth of cultural and historical experiences complements advanced medical treatments.</span></p> <p><b>Services: </b><span>Hair transplantation and cosmetic dentistry.</span></p> <p><b>Insider’s Tip: </b><span>Post-treatment, enjoy recovery in a city steeped in history and culture.</span></p> <p><b>How To Get There: </b><span>Istanbul Airport or Sabiha Gökçen International Airport.</span></p>

Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul is at the crossroads of East and West, a city that has become a prominent hub for medical tourism, especially known for its hair transplantation and cosmetic dentistry expertise. As you navigate through Istanbul’s unique blend of historical grandeur and modern sophistication, you’ll find numerous clinics and hospitals offering high-quality medical services at competitive prices.

These facilities are often equipped with the latest technology and staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized care. Its rich cultural tapestry enhances Istanbul’s appeal as a medical tourism destination, with landmarks such as the Hagia Sophia and the Grand Bazaar. Here, you can seamlessly combine your medical journey with the experience of exploring one of the world’s most historically rich and diverse cities.

Whether you’re strolling along the Bosphorus or savoring Turkish cuisine, Istanbul offers a unique setting where a wealth of cultural and historical experiences complements advanced medical treatments.

Services: Hair transplantation and cosmetic dentistry.

Insider’s Tip: Post-treatment, enjoy recovery in a city steeped in history and culture.

How To Get There: Istanbul Airport or Sabiha Gökçen International Airport.

<p><span>In Sao Paulo, you’ll find yourself in a bustling city that’s increasingly becoming a hotspot for medical tourism, particularly known for its excellence in cosmetic and plastic surgery. As you navigate through Sao Paulo, the largest city in South America, you’ll discover a range of high-quality medical facilities that offer a variety of procedures, from minimally invasive treatments to more complex surgeries, all performed by skilled and experienced surgeons.</span></p> <p><span>The city’s medical services are priced competitively, attracting patients from around the globe. Beyond the operating room, Sao Paulo is a vibrant metropolis brimming with cultural attractions, diverse cuisine, and dynamic nightlife. The opportunity to recover in such a lively urban environment adds an appealing dimension to your medical journey, combining top-tier medical care with the unique experience of exploring one of Brazil’s most dynamic cities.</span></p> <p><b>Services: </b><span>Cosmetic and plastic surgery.</span></p> <p><b>Insider’s Tip: </b><span>Brazil is known for its expertise in cosmetic procedures.</span></p> <p><b>How To Get There: </b><span>Fly into São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport.</span></p>

Sao Paulo, Brazil

In Sao Paulo, you’ll find yourself in a bustling city that’s increasingly becoming a hotspot for medical tourism, particularly known for its excellence in cosmetic and plastic surgery. As you navigate through Sao Paulo, the largest city in South America, you’ll discover a range of high-quality medical facilities that offer a variety of procedures, from minimally invasive treatments to more complex surgeries, all performed by skilled and experienced surgeons.

The city’s medical services are priced competitively, attracting patients from around the globe. Beyond the operating room, Sao Paulo is a vibrant metropolis brimming with cultural attractions, diverse cuisine, and dynamic nightlife. The opportunity to recover in such a lively urban environment adds an appealing dimension to your medical journey, combining top-tier medical care with the unique experience of exploring one of Brazil’s most dynamic cities.

Services: Cosmetic and plastic surgery.

Insider’s Tip: Brazil is known for its expertise in cosmetic procedures.

How To Get There: Fly into São Paulo–Guarulhos International Airport.

<p><span>Barcelona beautifully marries cutting-edge medical facilities with the charm of a vibrant cultural hub, making it an increasingly popular destination for medical tourism. Known mainly for its advanced fertility treatments and cosmetic surgery, Barcelona’s medical centers boast state-of-the-art technology and highly skilled professionals, offering quality care at competitive prices.</span></p> <p><span>As you embark on your medical journey in this city, you’re also treated to its rich architectural heritage, from Gaudi’s masterpieces to the Gothic Quarter’s winding streets. The city’s Mediterranean climate and inviting beaches provide a serene backdrop for recovery and relaxation. Whether you’re enjoying tapas on a sun-drenched terrace or strolling along the bustling Las Ramblas, Barcelona offers a holistic experience where an immersive cultural journey complements exceptional medical care.</span></p> <p><b>Services: </b><span>Advanced fertility treatments and cosmetic surgery.</span></p> <p><b>Insider’s Tip: </b><span>Take advantage of the city’s rich cultural and gastronomic scene during recovery.</span></p> <p><b>How To Get There: </b><span>Barcelona-El Prat Airport.</span></p>

Barcelona, Spain

Barcelona beautifully marries cutting-edge medical facilities with the charm of a vibrant cultural hub, making it an increasingly popular destination for medical tourism. Known mainly for its advanced fertility treatments and cosmetic surgery, Barcelona’s medical centers boast state-of-the-art technology and highly skilled professionals, offering quality care at competitive prices.

As you embark on your medical journey in this city, you’re also treated to its rich architectural heritage, from Gaudi’s masterpieces to the Gothic Quarter’s winding streets. The city’s Mediterranean climate and inviting beaches provide a serene backdrop for recovery and relaxation. Whether you’re enjoying tapas on a sun-drenched terrace or strolling along the bustling Las Ramblas, Barcelona offers a holistic experience where an immersive cultural journey complements exceptional medical care.

Services: Advanced fertility treatments and cosmetic surgery.

Insider’s Tip: Take advantage of the city’s rich cultural and gastronomic scene during recovery.

How To Get There: Barcelona-El Prat Airport.

<p><span>Tel Aviv is rapidly gaining recognition for its advanced medical treatments and state-of-the-art healthcare facilities. This vibrant coastal city offers a wide range of medical services, including cutting-edge cancer treatments and innovative medical technologies, attracting patients from across the globe. Tel Aviv’s medical institutions are known for their skilled professionals and personalized patient care, set within a competitive pricing framework.</span></p> <p><span>Beyond healthcare, Tel Aviv is a lively, modern city known for its beautiful Mediterranean beaches, rich cultural scene, and bustling nightlife. The city’s warm climate and welcoming atmosphere provide an ideal environment for recovery and relaxation. As you walk along the beachfront promenade or explore the historic streets of Jaffa, Tel Aviv offers a unique blend of top-tier medical care and a lively urban experience, making it an attractive destination for medical tourists seeking both treatment and an enriching travel experience.</span></p> <p><b>Services: </b><span>Cutting-edge cancer treatments and medical technologies.</span></p> <p><b>Insider’s Tip: </b><span>Explore the Mediterranean coast for a relaxing recovery.</span></p> <p><b>How To Get There: </b><span>Ben Gurion Airport is the main international gateway.</span></p>

Tel Aviv, Israel

Tel Aviv is rapidly gaining recognition for its advanced medical treatments and state-of-the-art healthcare facilities. This vibrant coastal city offers a wide range of medical services, including cutting-edge cancer treatments and innovative medical technologies, attracting patients from across the globe. Tel Aviv’s medical institutions are known for their skilled professionals and personalized patient care, set within a competitive pricing framework.

Beyond healthcare, Tel Aviv is a lively, modern city known for its beautiful Mediterranean beaches, rich cultural scene, and bustling nightlife. The city’s warm climate and welcoming atmosphere provide an ideal environment for recovery and relaxation. As you walk along the beachfront promenade or explore the historic streets of Jaffa, Tel Aviv offers a unique blend of top-tier medical care and a lively urban experience, making it an attractive destination for medical tourists seeking both treatment and an enriching travel experience.

Services: Cutting-edge cancer treatments and medical technologies.

Insider’s Tip: Explore the Mediterranean coast for a relaxing recovery.

How To Get There: Ben Gurion Airport is the main international gateway.

<p><span>Kuala Lumpur has established itself as a significant player in the field of medical tourism, offering an impressive array of healthcare services at highly competitive rates. The capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, is home to numerous internationally accredited hospitals and clinics that provide a wide range of medical procedures, from complex surgeries to wellness check-ups, all performed by qualified and experienced medical professionals.</span></p> <p><span>These facilities are equipped with modern medical technology, ensuring high treatment standards. Kuala Lumpur’s appeal as a medical tourism destination is further enhanced by its rich cultural diversity, delicious cuisine, and a blend of modern and traditional lifestyles. The city’s excellent infrastructure and English-speaking medical staff make navigating your healthcare journey and the city itself a smooth and comfortable experience.</span></p> <p><span>Whether exploring the iconic Petronas Twin Towers or indulging in the local food scene, Kuala Lumpur offers a unique setting where quality healthcare meets cultural richness.</span></p> <p><b>Services: </b><span>Affordable and quality healthcare covering various specialties.</span></p> <p><b>Insider’s Tip: </b><span>Malaysia’s healthcare system is ranked among the best in the world.</span></p> <p><b>How To Get There: </b><span>Kuala Lumpur International Airport.</span></p>

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur has established itself as a significant player in the field of medical tourism, offering an impressive array of healthcare services at highly competitive rates. The capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, is home to numerous internationally accredited hospitals and clinics that provide a wide range of medical procedures, from complex surgeries to wellness check-ups, all performed by qualified and experienced medical professionals.

These facilities are equipped with modern medical technology, ensuring high treatment standards. Kuala Lumpur’s appeal as a medical tourism destination is further enhanced by its rich cultural diversity, delicious cuisine, and a blend of modern and traditional lifestyles. The city’s excellent infrastructure and English-speaking medical staff make navigating your healthcare journey and the city itself a smooth and comfortable experience.

Whether exploring the iconic Petronas Twin Towers or indulging in the local food scene, Kuala Lumpur offers a unique setting where quality healthcare meets cultural richness.

Services: Affordable and quality healthcare covering various specialties.

Insider’s Tip: Malaysia’s healthcare system is ranked among the best in the world.

How To Get There: Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

<p><span>Singapore is a city-state known for its efficiency and modernity; you’ll discover a premier destination for medical tourism, renowned for its exceptional healthcare system. This bustling metropolis boasts state-of-the-art medical facilities that are among the best in the world, staffed with highly trained medical professionals who provide a wide range of specialized treatments and procedures.</span></p> <p><span>Singapore’s hospitals are known for their high standards of patient care and cutting-edge medical technology, offering services from complex surgeries to preventive medicine. The city, known for its cleanliness and order, provides a comfortable and stress-free environment for your medical journey. As you navigate this cosmopolitan city, you can also enjoy its diverse cultural tapestry, lush green spaces, and a culinary scene that’s a melting pot of Asian cuisines.</span></p> <p><span>In Singapore, your pursuit of health and wellness is complemented by the experience of a city that seamlessly blends traditional charm with a forward-thinking approach.</span></p> <p><b>Services: </b><span>State-of-the-art medical technology and facilities.</span></p> <p><b>Insider’s Tip: </b><span>Post-treatment, enjoy the city’s clean and organized environment.</span></p> <p><b>How To Get There: </b><span>Singapore Changi Airport.</span></p>

Singapore is a city-state known for its efficiency and modernity; you’ll discover a premier destination for medical tourism, renowned for its exceptional healthcare system. This bustling metropolis boasts state-of-the-art medical facilities that are among the best in the world, staffed with highly trained medical professionals who provide a wide range of specialized treatments and procedures.

Singapore’s hospitals are known for their high standards of patient care and cutting-edge medical technology, offering services from complex surgeries to preventive medicine. The city, known for its cleanliness and order, provides a comfortable and stress-free environment for your medical journey. As you navigate this cosmopolitan city, you can also enjoy its diverse cultural tapestry, lush green spaces, and a culinary scene that’s a melting pot of Asian cuisines.

In Singapore, your pursuit of health and wellness is complemented by the experience of a city that seamlessly blends traditional charm with a forward-thinking approach.

Services: State-of-the-art medical technology and facilities.

Insider’s Tip: Post-treatment, enjoy the city’s clean and organized environment.

How To Get There: Singapore Changi Airport.

<p><span>Dubai is a luxurious and futuristic city that has rapidly emerged as a key destination for medical tourism. Known for its lavish lifestyle and architectural wonders, Dubai also boasts world-class medical facilities offering a range of high-end medical and wellness services. These facilities are equipped with the latest technology and staffed by top-notch medical professionals, catering to a variety of health needs, from elective surgeries to wellness retreats.</span></p> <p><span>The city’s emphasis on luxury and comfort extends to its healthcare services, ensuring a premium experience for medical tourists. As you explore Dubai, you can indulge in its opulent shopping malls, stunning skyscrapers like the Burj Khalifa, and relaxing beach resorts, which make the perfect backdrop for a recuperative stay. Dubai’s blend of advanced healthcare, luxury, and a unique desert landscape offers a distinctive and indulgent medical tourism experience.</span></p> <p><b>Services: </b><span>Luxury medical treatments and wellness retreats.</span></p> <p><b>Insider’s Tip: </b><span>Experience high-end recovery facilities in this modern metropolis.</span></p> <p><b>How To Get There: </b><span>Dubai International Airport.</span></p>

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Dubai is a luxurious and futuristic city that has rapidly emerged as a key destination for medical tourism. Known for its lavish lifestyle and architectural wonders, Dubai also boasts world-class medical facilities offering a range of high-end medical and wellness services. These facilities are equipped with the latest technology and staffed by top-notch medical professionals, catering to a variety of health needs, from elective surgeries to wellness retreats.

The city’s emphasis on luxury and comfort extends to its healthcare services, ensuring a premium experience for medical tourists. As you explore Dubai, you can indulge in its opulent shopping malls, stunning skyscrapers like the Burj Khalifa, and relaxing beach resorts, which make the perfect backdrop for a recuperative stay. Dubai’s blend of advanced healthcare, luxury, and a unique desert landscape offers a distinctive and indulgent medical tourism experience.

Services: Luxury medical treatments and wellness retreats.

Insider’s Tip: Experience high-end recovery facilities in this modern metropolis.

How To Get There: Dubai International Airport.

<p><span>In Los Angeles, you’ll immerse yourself in a city that’s not just the epicenter of entertainment but also a growing hub for medical tourism. Known for its advanced medical treatments, particularly in specialties like oncology and cardiology, Los Angeles hosts a range of top-tier hospitals and clinics. These facilities are renowned for their cutting-edge technology and expert medical staff, ensuring you receive high-quality care.</span></p> <p><span>The city’s diverse and wellness-focused culture complements your medical journey, offering numerous options for healthy living and recovery. As you navigate the sprawling metropolis, you can indulge in its unique blend of urban excitement and natural beauty, from the Hollywood hills to the serene Pacific coastline. Los Angeles provides an ideal backdrop for those seeking world-class medical treatment while enjoying Southern California’s vibrant lifestyle and scenic diversity.</span></p> <p><b>Services: </b><span>Advanced medical treatments, especially in oncology and cardiology.</span></p> <p><b>Insider’s Tip: </b><span>The city’s wellness culture is ideal for recuperation.</span></p> <p><b>How To Get There: </b><span>Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).</span></p>

Los Angeles, USA

In Los Angeles, you’ll immerse yourself in a city that’s not just the epicenter of entertainment but also a growing hub for medical tourism. Known for its advanced medical treatments, particularly in specialties like oncology and cardiology, Los Angeles hosts a range of top-tier hospitals and clinics. These facilities are renowned for their cutting-edge technology and expert medical staff, ensuring you receive high-quality care.

The city’s diverse and wellness-focused culture complements your medical journey, offering numerous options for healthy living and recovery. As you navigate the sprawling metropolis, you can indulge in its unique blend of urban excitement and natural beauty, from the Hollywood hills to the serene Pacific coastline. Los Angeles provides an ideal backdrop for those seeking world-class medical treatment while enjoying Southern California’s vibrant lifestyle and scenic diversity.

Services: Advanced medical treatments, especially in oncology and cardiology.

Insider’s Tip: The city’s wellness culture is ideal for recuperation.

How To Get There: Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

<p><span>Tijuana, just across the border from San Diego, you’ll discover a city that has become a go-to destination for medical tourism, especially known for its affordable dental care and bariatric surgery. This bustling border town offers quality medical services at a fraction of the cost typically found in the United States, drawing patients from all over North America. Tijuana’s medical facilities are modern and well-equipped, staffed by experienced and often bilingual healthcare professionals.</span></p> <p><span>The city’s proximity to the United States adds to its appeal, providing easy accessibility for those seeking efficient and cost-effective medical treatments. Beyond its healthcare offerings, Tijuana boasts a vibrant culture, with lively markets, authentic Mexican cuisine, and a warm, welcoming atmosphere. In Tijuana, you can experience the benefits of affordable medical care while enjoying the rich cultural experiences that this unique border city has to offer.</span></p> <p><b>Services: </b><span>Affordable dental care and bariatric surgery.</span></p> <p><b>Insider’s Tip: </b>It is a popular destination for Americans due to its proximity and lower costs.</p> <p><b>How To Get There: </b><span>General Abelardo L. Rodríguez International Airport or cross the border from San Diego.</span></p>

Tijuana, Mexico

Tijuana, just across the border from San Diego, you’ll discover a city that has become a go-to destination for medical tourism, especially known for its affordable dental care and bariatric surgery. This bustling border town offers quality medical services at a fraction of the cost typically found in the United States, drawing patients from all over North America. Tijuana’s medical facilities are modern and well-equipped, staffed by experienced and often bilingual healthcare professionals.

The city’s proximity to the United States adds to its appeal, providing easy accessibility for those seeking efficient and cost-effective medical treatments. Beyond its healthcare offerings, Tijuana boasts a vibrant culture, with lively markets, authentic Mexican cuisine, and a warm, welcoming atmosphere. In Tijuana, you can experience the benefits of affordable medical care while enjoying the rich cultural experiences that this unique border city has to offer.

Services: Affordable dental care and bariatric surgery.

Insider’s Tip: It is a popular destination for Americans due to its proximity and lower costs.

How To Get There: General Abelardo L. Rodríguez International Airport or cross the border from San Diego.

<p><span>Vienna is renowned for its classical music, stunning architecture, and, increasingly, for its high-quality preventive medicine and diagnostics. This elegant capital offers a range of sophisticated healthcare services, focusing on preventive care that emphasizes early detection and holistic treatment approaches.</span></p> <p><span>Vienna’s medical facilities are world-class, featuring state-of-the-art technology and staffed by highly trained medical professionals. The city’s healthcare system is recognized for its efficiency and patient-centric approach, ensuring a comfortable and reassuring experience.</span></p> <p><span>Beyond its medical offerings, Vienna is enchanted with its imperial history, vibrant cultural scene, and cozy coffee houses, making it an ideal destination for those seeking top-tier medical services in a serene and culturally rich setting. In Vienna, the pursuit of health is complemented by the opportunity to immerse oneself in a city steeped in history and renowned for its contributions to art and science.</span></p> <p><b>Services: </b><span>High-quality preventive medicine and diagnostics.</span></p> <p><b>Insider’s Tip: </b><span>Enjoy the city’s classical music scene and historical ambiance during your stay.</span></p> <p><b>How To Get There: </b><span>Vienna International Airport.</span></p>

Vienna, Austria

Vienna is renowned for its classical music, stunning architecture, and, increasingly, for its high-quality preventive medicine and diagnostics. This elegant capital offers a range of sophisticated healthcare services, focusing on preventive care that emphasizes early detection and holistic treatment approaches.

Vienna’s medical facilities are world-class, featuring state-of-the-art technology and staffed by highly trained medical professionals. The city’s healthcare system is recognized for its efficiency and patient-centric approach, ensuring a comfortable and reassuring experience.

Beyond its medical offerings, Vienna is enchanted with its imperial history, vibrant cultural scene, and cozy coffee houses, making it an ideal destination for those seeking top-tier medical services in a serene and culturally rich setting. In Vienna, the pursuit of health is complemented by the opportunity to immerse oneself in a city steeped in history and renowned for its contributions to art and science.

Services: High-quality preventive medicine and diagnostics.

Insider’s Tip: Enjoy the city’s classical music scene and historical ambiance during your stay.

How To Get There: Vienna International Airport.

<p><span>Traveling for health and medical treatments combines the necessity of healthcare with the pleasure of experiencing new cultures and environments. Each of these destinations offers unique medical specialties.</span></p> <p><span>More Articles Like This…</span></p> <p><span>Barcelona: Discover the Top 10 Beach Clubs</span></p> <p><span>2024 Global City Travel Guide – Your Passport to the World’s Top Destination Cities</span></p> <p><span>Exploring Khao Yai 2024 – A Hidden Gem of Thailand</span></p> <p><span>The post Top Destinations for Health and Medical Tourism in 2024 republished on</span> <span>Passing Thru</span><span> with permission from</span> <span>The Green Voyage</span><span>.</span></p> <p>Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / ArtFamily.</p> <p><span>For transparency, this content was partly developed with AI assistance and carefully curated by an experienced editor to be informative and ensure accuracy.</span></p>

The Bottom Line

Traveling for health and medical treatments combines the necessity of healthcare with the pleasure of experiencing new cultures and environments. Each of these destinations offers unique medical specialties.

More Articles Like This…

Barcelona: Discover the Top 10 Beach Clubs

2024 Global City Travel Guide – Your Passport to the World’s Top Destination Cities

Exploring Khao Yai 2024 – A Hidden Gem of Thailand

The post Top Destinations for Health and Medical Tourism in 2024 republished on Passing Thru with permission from The Green Voyage .

Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / ArtFamily.

For transparency, this content was partly developed with AI assistance and carefully curated by an experienced editor to be informative and ensure accuracy.

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How Can Helicopters Help Us Determine the Health of Antarctica’s Oceans?

examples of health tourism

In East Antarctica, warm ocean water travels toward the Totten Ice Shelf. This water melts and thins the ice shelf, and speeds up the rate at which ice moves into the sea, leading to sea-level rise. Scientists often get on board ships called icebreakers to study the ice and water in these regions. However, sea ice and icebergs are major obstacles to navigation and scientific operations. For example, American, Australian, and Japanese icebreakers tried but could only observe a small area where sea ice was more broken up. So, we used a helicopter to measure the ocean during one of our research expeditions. Helicopters can travel faster than icebreakers. They can fly over sea ice and icebergs, and trained workers can drop sensors into small gaps in the ice. In 6 days, we observed ocean temperatures at 67 sites, covering a large area that could not be studied before. We identified wide pathways of warm water flowing toward the Totten Ice Shelf.

Warm Ocean Temperatures Are Melting Ice Shelves

When snow falls on Antarctica, it slowly becomes ice as it is buried beneath subsequent snowfall. The resulting ice moves slowly toward the coast and flows out into the ocean, where it starts floating and forms an ice shelf ( Figure 1A ). Ice shelves get smaller when ocean water melts them and when icebergs break off, which is called calving. If ice accumulation (snowfall) equals ice loss (melting and calving), the total amount of Antarctic ice does not change, and there is no impact on sea level. However, many scientists predict that Antarctic ice may be lost rapidly in the future. Why might this happen?

Figure 1 - (A) As ice forms, it flows toward the ocean.

  • Figure 1 - (A) As ice forms, it flows toward the ocean.
  • The ice that overhangs ocean water is called an ice shelf. When warm ocean water flows under the ice shelf, the ice melts and icebergs can break off. (B) As warm water flows underneath the ice, the ice begins to move across the land faster, causing ice to be lost into the ocean more quickly.

Glaciers and ice shelves are rivers of ice flowing from the land into the ocean. When the ice moves against the rocky surface of the Earth or the seafloor, the land can hold it back and friction slows down and stabilizes the ice flow. However, when warm water flows beneath the ice shelf, the ice shelf thins and the water reduces the friction ( Figure 1B ). This allows the ice to speed up and move toward the ocean faster, contributing to ice loss and sea-level rise [ 1 ]. Since the air is very cold in most regions of Antarctica, almost all ice loss is due to melting that happens in the oceans. So, we need to understand how warm ocean water travels toward the Antarctic ice shelves.

Observations Near The Antarctic Coast Are Difficult

Sea ice is frozen ocean water. Cold air temperatures and strong winds freeze seawater and form large areas of floating sea ice. In summer, some of the sea ice melts. Icebergs are large chunks of ice that break off from glaciers due to calving. Icebergs can be huge. For example, one of the largest icebergs has an area of about 300 km by 40 km!

As you can see from the satellite image in Figure 2A , there are two ice shelves in this region. One is the Totten Ice Shelf (TIS) and the other is the Moscow University Ice Shelf (MUIS). Figures 3A , B give you a close look at the ice-covered regions in Figure 2 , in front of the TIS and MUIS, respectively. Huge areas of sea ice cover the ocean surface close to the front of the TIS. Such a large area of sea ice is formed when smaller pieces of sea ice join together and accumulate snow on top of them. Since such a huge plate of sea ice can be 5–10 m thick, there is no chance for exploratory boats called icebreakers to travel into this region.

Figure 2 - (A) Satellite image from December 2019, off the TIS and MUIS.

  • Figure 2 - (A) Satellite image from December 2019, off the TIS and MUIS.
  • Regions in white are sea ice or icebergs. Regions in black are the ocean surface with little sea ice cover. Blue circles show regions where sea ice fully covers the ocean surface and the icebreaker Shirase could not travel. Pink circles show areas where there was little sea ice. (B) Helicopter used for ocean observations. (C) Sensors dropped from helicopters into cracks in the sea ice. (D) Vertical sections of ocean temperature along line A. The red-orange color indicates warm ocean heat pathways toward the TIS.

Figure 3 - (A) Zoomed-in shot of Figure 2A, for the region in front of the TIS.

  • Figure 3 - (A) Zoomed-in shot of Figure 2A , for the region in front of the TIS.
  • You can see TIS, thick sea ice, icebergs, and ice cracks. (B) Zoomed-in shot of Figure 2A , for the area near the MUIS. You can see thick sea ice and icebergs. (C) Aerial photo showing an AXCTD sensor falling into a sea-ice crack. (D) Photo taken from the helicopter showing sea ice, ice crack, and icebergs.

In Figure 3B , you can see the region in front of the MUIS, showing a big difference between the east and the west. In the west, one big piece of sea ice covers the ocean surface. This condition is similar to the TIS. However, in other locations, we find hundreds of huge icebergs—each a few km 2 in size and about 300–400 m thick. The aerial photo in Figure 3D shows a few icebergs with heights (from the ocean surface to the top) of about 20–30 m. This means that about 200–300 m of ice is hidden in the seawater.

Our research group took part in the 61st Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE61). We sailed on the Japanese icebreaker Shirase between December 2019 and March 2020. Icebreakers are designed with hulls strong enough to push sea ice away or break the ice by ramming into it. Icebreakers can easily move forward when sea ice is not thick or does not fully cover the ocean surface. When the sea ice is thick (about 1 or 2 m) and forms a solid sheet, it is difficult for icebreakers to move forward. In the case of the JARE61 expedition, we sometimes spent an entire day trying to move forward in a region with thick ice; sometimes we only moved a few 100 m or less in 24 h. We found very thick sea ice covering most of the ocean surface near the TIS, so Shirase could not make progress there. Thus, the Shirase decided to remain in a nearby area with less sea ice for all of December 2019.

In the past, American, Australian, and Japanese icebreakers attempted to observe larger regions in front of the TIS [ 2 ], but they failed because there is usually thick sea ice covering the areas in front of the TIS and MUIS. Therefore, no one could observe what was happening in the ocean in the areas where warm ocean water was likely flowing toward the key ice shelves in this region.

Using Helicopters To Find Heat Pathways

The icebreaker Shirase is equipped with CH-101 helicopters ( Figure 2B ). We flew from the ship to the target sites and dropped sensors called Airborne eXpendable Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth sensors (AXCTD) and Airborne eXpendable Bathy-Thermograph sensors (AXBT) from the rear door of the helicopter. The sensors are enclosed in a protective case and a small parachute attached to the sensors opens quickly after they are released ( Figure 2C ). The sensor descends in a controlled manner and lands in the water. At the ocean surface, the sensor is released from the protective case. The system consists of a floating buoy and a sensor, connected to each other by 1,000 m of very thin wire. The sensor sinks to the seafloor, measuring temperature and salinity along the way. The floating buoy transmits the data to the helicopter overhead. Using this method, within 6 days we surveyed temperature, salinity, and ocean depth at 67 stations.

Helicopters can travel faster than ships. They can fly over very thick sea ice and icebergs. They can hover while workers prepare and drop sensors into gaps in the sea ice. Helicopters allowed us to travel to previously unreachable areas and observe the ocean beneath thick sea ice and some icebergs. We could also drop sensors into a 20-m-wide crack in the sea ice off the TIS ( Figure 3A ) and a 15-m-wide crack surrounded by icebergs and sea ice near the MUIS ( Figures 3C , D ).

We observed an inflow of warm water traveling toward the TIS ( Figure 2D ). The inflow is about 150 km wide. We also observed warm water deep in the ocean, at temperatures of about 0.5–1°C. In the salty water of the ocean, the freezing point is about -2°C. Although this sounds cold by non-Antarctic standards, the water is very warm for the ice. Using helicopters, we identified wide pathways of warm water flowing toward the TiS for the first time. This warm water flows in a thin layer only 50–100 m thick. In contrast, previous studies found a thicker layer of warm ocean water flowing toward Antarctic ice shelves in the highest ice shelf-melting region in Antarctica [ 1 ]. This finding suggests that, if the warm water inflow we observed thickens, the melting of the TIS might greatly increase.

Now that we know how warm ocean water is traveling toward the TIS, the next step is to develop a computer model of the ocean in this region, to simulate the warm water inflow [ 3 ]. Scientists can use computer models to understand the mechanisms of warm ocean flow and to predict future changes. This information can help policymakers to make decisions about how we can prevent and adapt to climate change and rising sea levels.

Ice Shelf : ↑ When a glacier flows into the ocean, it forms a floating extension called an ice shelf.

Iceberg : ↑ A large floating mass of ice detached from a glacier or ice shelf.

Sea Ice : ↑ Frozen seawater.

Icebreaker : ↑ A ship designed to move through waters covered with ice, by breaking through it.

Airborne EXpendable Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (AXCTD) Sensor : ↑ A sensor that can be dropped to the bottom of the ocean from a helicopter or a plane and can send back information about ocean depth, temperature, and salinity.

Airborne Expendable Bathy-Thermograph (AXBT) Sensor : ↑ Like AXCTD, but it can only send back the ocean depth.

Salinity : ↑ The concentrations of salts in seawater.

Computer Model : ↑ A computer program that is designed to simulate ocean circulation.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

YN acknowledges support from Grants-in-Aids for Scientific Research (21K13989) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology in Japan and the Inoue Science Research Award from the Inoue Science Foundation. PW received grant funding from the Australian Government as part of the Antarctic Science Collaboration Initiative Program. JG acknowledges support from NSF grants OPP-2114454 and OPP-2309648, NASA’s Cryosphere Program under grant 80NSSC22K0387, and the G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation.

Original Source Article

↑ Nakayama, Y., Wongpan, P., Greenbaum, J. S., Yamazaki, K., Noguchi, T., Simizu, D., et al. 2023. Helicopter-based ocean observations capture broad ocean heat intrusions toward the Totten Ice Shelf. Geophys. Res. Lett . 50:e2022GL097864. doi: 10.1029/2022GL097864

[1] ↑ Wåhlin, A. K., Steiger, N., Darelius, E., Assmann, K. M., Glessmer, M. S., and Ha, H. K., et al 2020. Ice front blocking of ocean heat transport to an Antarctic ice shelf. Nature . 578:568–71. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2014-5

[2] ↑ Rintoul, S. R., Silvano, A., Pena-Molino, B., van Wijk, E., Rosenberg, M., and Greenbaum, J. S., et al (2016). Ocean heat drives rapid basal melt of the Totten Ice Shelf. Sci. Adv .. 2:e1601610. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1601610

[3] ↑ Nakayama, Y., Greene, C. A., Paolo, F. S., Mensah, V., Zhang, H., and Kashiwase, H., et al 2021. Antarctic Slope Current modulates ocean heat intrusions towards Totten Glacier. Geophys. Res. Lett. 48:e2021GL094149. doi: 10.1029/2021GL094149

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The Effects of Climate Change

The effects of human-caused global warming are happening now, are irreversible for people alive today, and will worsen as long as humans add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

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  • We already see effects scientists predicted, such as the loss of sea ice, melting glaciers and ice sheets, sea level rise, and more intense heat waves.
  • Scientists predict global temperature increases from human-made greenhouse gases will continue. Severe weather damage will also increase and intensify.

Earth Will Continue to Warm and the Effects Will Be Profound

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Global climate change is not a future problem. Changes to Earth’s climate driven by increased human emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases are already having widespread effects on the environment: glaciers and ice sheets are shrinking, river and lake ice is breaking up earlier, plant and animal geographic ranges are shifting, and plants and trees are blooming sooner.

Effects that scientists had long predicted would result from global climate change are now occurring, such as sea ice loss, accelerated sea level rise, and longer, more intense heat waves.

The magnitude and rate of climate change and associated risks depend strongly on near-term mitigation and adaptation actions, and projected adverse impacts and related losses and damages escalate with every increment of global warming.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Some changes (such as droughts, wildfires, and extreme rainfall) are happening faster than scientists previously assessed. In fact, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — the United Nations body established to assess the science related to climate change — modern humans have never before seen the observed changes in our global climate, and some of these changes are irreversible over the next hundreds to thousands of years.

Scientists have high confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for many decades, mainly due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities.

The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment report, published in 2021, found that human emissions of heat-trapping gases have already warmed the climate by nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since 1850-1900. 1 The global average temperature is expected to reach or exceed 1.5 degrees C (about 3 degrees F) within the next few decades. These changes will affect all regions of Earth.

The severity of effects caused by climate change will depend on the path of future human activities. More greenhouse gas emissions will lead to more climate extremes and widespread damaging effects across our planet. However, those future effects depend on the total amount of carbon dioxide we emit. So, if we can reduce emissions, we may avoid some of the worst effects.

The scientific evidence is unequivocal: climate change is a threat to human wellbeing and the health of the planet. Any further delay in concerted global action will miss the brief, rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future.

Here are some of the expected effects of global climate change on the United States, according to the Third and Fourth National Climate Assessment Reports:

Future effects of global climate change in the United States:

sea level rise

U.S. Sea Level Likely to Rise 1 to 6.6 Feet by 2100

Global sea level has risen about 8 inches (0.2 meters) since reliable record-keeping began in 1880. By 2100, scientists project that it will rise at least another foot (0.3 meters), but possibly as high as 6.6 feet (2 meters) in a high-emissions scenario. Sea level is rising because of added water from melting land ice and the expansion of seawater as it warms. Image credit: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0

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Climate Changes Will Continue Through This Century and Beyond

Global climate is projected to continue warming over this century and beyond. Image credit: Khagani Hasanov, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

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Hurricanes Will Become Stronger and More Intense

Scientists project that hurricane-associated storm intensity and rainfall rates will increase as the climate continues to warm. Image credit: NASA

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More Droughts and Heat Waves

Droughts in the Southwest and heat waves (periods of abnormally hot weather lasting days to weeks) are projected to become more intense, and cold waves less intense and less frequent. Image credit: NOAA

2013 Rim Fire

Longer Wildfire Season

Warming temperatures have extended and intensified wildfire season in the West, where long-term drought in the region has heightened the risk of fires. Scientists estimate that human-caused climate change has already doubled the area of forest burned in recent decades. By around 2050, the amount of land consumed by wildfires in Western states is projected to further increase by two to six times. Even in traditionally rainy regions like the Southeast, wildfires are projected to increase by about 30%.

Changes in Precipitation Patterns

Climate change is having an uneven effect on precipitation (rain and snow) in the United States, with some locations experiencing increased precipitation and flooding, while others suffer from drought. On average, more winter and spring precipitation is projected for the northern United States, and less for the Southwest, over this century. Image credit: Marvin Nauman/FEMA

Crop field.

Frost-Free Season (and Growing Season) will Lengthen

The length of the frost-free season, and the corresponding growing season, has been increasing since the 1980s, with the largest increases occurring in the western United States. Across the United States, the growing season is projected to continue to lengthen, which will affect ecosystems and agriculture.

Heatmap showing scorching temperatures in U.S. West

Global Temperatures Will Continue to Rise

Summer of 2023 was Earth's hottest summer on record, 0.41 degrees Fahrenheit (F) (0.23 degrees Celsius (C)) warmer than any other summer in NASA’s record and 2.1 degrees F (1.2 C) warmer than the average summer between 1951 and 1980. Image credit: NASA

Satellite map of arctic sea ice.

Arctic Is Very Likely to Become Ice-Free

Sea ice cover in the Arctic Ocean is expected to continue decreasing, and the Arctic Ocean will very likely become essentially ice-free in late summer if current projections hold. This change is expected to occur before mid-century.

U.S. Regional Effects

Climate change is bringing different types of challenges to each region of the country. Some of the current and future impacts are summarized below. These findings are from the Third 3 and Fourth 4 National Climate Assessment Reports, released by the U.S. Global Change Research Program .

  • Northeast. Heat waves, heavy downpours, and sea level rise pose increasing challenges to many aspects of life in the Northeast. Infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries, and ecosystems will be increasingly compromised. Farmers can explore new crop options, but these adaptations are not cost- or risk-free. Moreover, adaptive capacity , which varies throughout the region, could be overwhelmed by a changing climate. Many states and cities are beginning to incorporate climate change into their planning.
  • Northwest. Changes in the timing of peak flows in rivers and streams are reducing water supplies and worsening competing demands for water. Sea level rise, erosion, flooding, risks to infrastructure, and increasing ocean acidity pose major threats. Increasing wildfire incidence and severity, heat waves, insect outbreaks, and tree diseases are causing widespread forest die-off.
  • Southeast. Sea level rise poses widespread and continuing threats to the region’s economy and environment. Extreme heat will affect health, energy, agriculture, and more. Decreased water availability will have economic and environmental impacts.
  • Midwest. Extreme heat, heavy downpours, and flooding will affect infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, air and water quality, and more. Climate change will also worsen a range of risks to the Great Lakes.
  • Southwest. Climate change has caused increased heat, drought, and insect outbreaks. In turn, these changes have made wildfires more numerous and severe. The warming climate has also caused a decline in water supplies, reduced agricultural yields, and triggered heat-related health impacts in cities. In coastal areas, flooding and erosion are additional concerns.

1. IPCC 2021, Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis , the Working Group I contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.

2. IPCC, 2013: Summary for Policymakers. In: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Stocker, T.F., D. Qin, G.-K. Plattner, M. Tignor, S.K. Allen, J. Boschung, A. Nauels, Y. Xia, V. Bex and P.M. Midgley (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

3. USGCRP 2014, Third Climate Assessment .

4. USGCRP 2017, Fourth Climate Assessment .

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A Degree of Difference

So, the Earth's average temperature has increased about 2 degrees Fahrenheit during the 20th century. What's the big deal?

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What’s the difference between climate change and global warming?

“Global warming” refers to the long-term warming of the planet. “Climate change” encompasses global warming, but refers to the broader range of changes that are happening to our planet, including rising sea levels; shrinking mountain glaciers; accelerating ice melt in Greenland, Antarctica and the Arctic; and shifts in flower/plant blooming times.

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Is it too late to prevent climate change?

Humans have caused major climate changes to happen already, and we have set in motion more changes still. However, if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases today, the rise in global temperatures would begin to flatten within a few years. Temperatures would then plateau but remain well-elevated for many, many centuries.

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What we know about the Baltimore bridge collapse

Video of the collision shows a towering boat headed directly toward one of the bridge’s support columns before colliding with it, sending a massive stretch of the bridge crashing into the water below in mere seconds.

By Melissa Alonso and Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN

Published Mar 26, 2024 2:08 AM PDT | Updated Mar 26, 2024 12:23 PM PDT

A webcam in Baltimore, Maryland, recorded the moment a cargo ship hit the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing it to collapse on March 26.

(CNN) —  A massive cargo ship plowed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday, causing the 1.6-mile bridge to crumble like a pile of toothpicks and plunge cars and people into the frigid water below.

Here’s what we know about the catastrophe:

Why did the bridge collapse?

Shortly before 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, a Singaporean-flagged container vessel called DALI struck one of the bridge’s pillars, officials said.

The ship is about 984 feet long, according to MarineTraffic data. That’s the length of three football fields.

Moments before the disaster, the DALI reportedly lost propulsion and dropped its anchor as part of its emergency protocol, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said in a written statement.

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The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed early Tuesday morning after it was struck by a large ship. (Credit: StreamTimeLive via CNN Newsource)

examples of health tourism

A ship collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday, causing the bridge to collapse. (Credit: WJZ via CNN Newsource)

“The ship management company, Synergy Marine Pte Ltd, reported to MPA that just prior to the incident, the vessel, Dali had experienced momentary loss of propulsion,” the statement said. “As a result, it was unable to maintain the desired heading and collided with the Francis Scott Key bridge.”

Video footage showed lights flickering aboard the ship shortly before the catastrophe.

“We can confirm that the crew notified authorities of a power issue” before the crash, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said Tuesday. He said the ship had apparently lost power.

Footage of the crash also showed the vessel was in the wrong part of the channel as it approached the bridge.

The ship crashed into a pillar toward one side of the bridge instead of crossing under the middle of the bridge, where the clearance is highest.

“If you look at it, it’s off center of where it should be,” Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld told CNN.

“Obviously, it should be in the main channel, which is under that main span.”

How many people are missing or injured?

At least six people who were on the bridge at the time of collapse are still missing, Wiedefeld told reporters about eight hours after the crash.

All six are construction workers who were filling potholes on the surface of the bridge when the ship crashed, Wiedefeld said. The construction work “had nothing to do with a structural issue at all,” Wiedefeld said.

Two people were rescued from the Patapsco River, Baltimore City Fire Chief James Wallace said. One of them was not injured, and the other was taken to a local trauma center in “very serious condition,” he said.

Sonar technology detected cars submerged in the water after the crash, but there are no known victims in those cars, Wiedefeld said. It’s possible the cars may have belonged to the construction workers.

No one aboard the DALI was injured, according to the ship’s management company, Synergy Group.

How dangerous is the water?

examples of health tourism

A ship collided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge early Tuesday, causing the bridge to collapse. (Credit: Hartford County Md Fire & EMS PIO via CNN Newsource)

The Patapsco River is about 50 feet deep under the Francis Scott Key Bridge, Wiedefeld said.

It’s also frigid. The  water temperature  in Baltimore Harbor near the site of the bridge collapse was about 46 to 48 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday morning. Any prolonged exposure to water under 55 degrees  can be deadly , the National Weather Service said.

With water temperatures under 50 degrees, immediate incapacitation can occur and “sudden increases in heart rates and blood pressure” can cause a heart attack, the weather service said. Bodies lose heat  four times faster  in cold water than in cold air, which can quickly lead to hypothermia, confusion and shock.

“Unplanned immersion in cold water can be  life-threatening for anyone without protection  from the temperatures or a lifejacket to help you stay afloat,” the weather service said.

Swimmers without floatation can survive in water temperatures of 40 to 50 degrees for about 30 to 60 minutes, according to the  University of Minnesota . With the aid of floatation devices, the likely survival time is about two to three hours.

Was this an accident or an intentional act?

examples of health tourism

Baltimore Police said there was no evidence that the ship collision that caused the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was intentional. (WBAL via CNN Newsource)

examples of health tourism

Pictured is the Dali container vessel after striking the Francis Scott Key Bridge that collapsed into the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland, on March 26. (WBAL via CNN Newsource)

There is no indication the ship’s crash and the bridge collapse were intentional, state and federal officials said.

Still, the FBI is on the scene. There are multiple reasons for that, former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe said.

“The first is because when you have an event like this that calls for a massive response (and) resources, all of the local law enforcement entities, federal entities, whoever’s in the area, because of mutual aid agreements, will show up and contribute whatever resources they have,” McCabe told CNN.

For example, the FBI has “very experienced dive teams” that can help with the search, McCabe said.

Second, the FBI can help confirm whether the disaster was intentional. “They will look through all their intelligence holdings to see if there’s any chatter talking about plans or targeting, about locations like this, to see if there’s anything in the background that we should have been aware of and watching for,” McCabe said.

“Obviously, we’ve heard from numerous officials that that is not the case at this point.”

CNN’s Sahar Akbarzai, Andy Rose, Derek van Dam, Monica Garrett, AnneClaire Stapleton and Louis Mian contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2024 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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Medical Tourism

The future of medical tourism: emerging trends and growth opportunities.

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Medical tourism is a rapidly growing industry, with more and more patients seeking medical treatments and procedures in countries other than their own. This trend is expected to continue in the coming years, as the industry adapts to changing patient needs and preferences. In this article, we will explore the latest trends in medical tourism and the potential for future growth opportunities.

One of the main trends in medical tourism is the shift toward wellness and preventive care. Patients are no longer seeking treatment solely for an illness or condition, but also for procedures and treatments that will help them maintain their health and prevent future health issues. This trend is in line with a broader societal shift towards a focus on health and wellness and is expected to continue as more people become aware of the benefits of preventive care.

Another important trend in medical tourism is the increased use of technology. Telemedicine, for example, is becoming more widely used, allowing patients to consult with doctors remotely and reducing the need for travel. Virtual reality is also being used to help patients prepare for medical procedures and reduce anxiety. This technology not only enhances patient care but also improves the patient experience and can make medical tourism more accessible and appealing to a broader range of patients.

Personalized medicine is also an emerging trend in medical tourism. With advances in genetic testing and other diagnostic tools, patients can now receive treatment plans tailored to their individual needs and genetic makeup. This approach to medicine is expected to become increasingly popular in the future, as patients seek out more personalized and targeted treatments.

The growth of medical tourism is creating new opportunities for players in the industry. Travel agencies, for example, are now offering medical tourism packages, and more hospitals and clinics are catering specifically to medical tourists. This is creating a more competitive market, with more options and services available to patients.

However, despite the growth in medical tourism, there are also challenges that need to be addressed. Quality of care, patient safety, and ethical concerns are all issues that must be taken seriously in order to maintain the industry's growth and reputation. The industry must continue to focus on ensuring high-quality care and treatment for patients, while also addressing these challenges and maintaining patient safety and ethical standards.

In conclusion, the future of medical tourism looks promising, with new trends and growth opportunities emerging. As the industry continues to evolve, it will be important to address the challenges and ensure that patients receive high-quality care and treatment. By doing so, medical tourism will continue to grow and thrive, benefiting both patients and the industry as a whole.

To receive a free quote please click on the link: https://www.medicaltourism.com/get-a-quote

Patients are advised to seek hospitals that are accredited by Global Healthcare and only work with medical tourism facilitators who are certified by Global Healthcare Accreditation or who have undergone certification from the Certified Medical Travel Professionals (CMTP). This ensures that the highest standards in the industry are met. Click the link to check out hospitals accredited by the Global Healthcare Accreditation: https://www.globalhealthcareaccreditation.com/

It is recommended that consumers do not share their personal and confidential information on random medical tourism platforms as they may not be secure. Consumers must be cautious when disclosing their private information as some organizations may not protect their privacy and could misuse their information. Additionally, there are agencies that may prioritize their commissions over the well-being of the patients. Consumers should avoid choosing the cheapest price and instead make a thorough comparison across multiple facilitators to make an informed decision.

Informed Decision-Making in Medical Tourism: The Significance of Clinical Outcome Reports

The synergy between telemedicine services and medical tourism marketing, elevating visibility: advanced seo strategies for medical tourism websites, crafting success: building an effective content marketing plan for medical tourism, navigating the future: emerging trends in medical tourism and their marketing implications, crafting a winning brand strategy for medical tourism facilities, medical tourism events and conferences: a marketing goldmine, continue reading, best countries for stomach cancer treatment: a global perspective, ponderas academic hospital: elevating medical tourism with jci accreditation and personalized care, brno and south moravia - a hidden treasure of central europe, featured reading, navigating cultural competence in medical tourism marketing: a global approach, navigating legal aspects of international healthcare: ensuring patient safety and compliance, medical tourism magazine.

The Medical Tourism Magazine (MTM), known as the “voice” of the medical tourism industry, provides members and key industry experts with the opportunity to share important developments, initiatives, themes, topics and trends that make the medical tourism industry the booming market it is today.

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IMAGES

  1. Everything You Need to Know About Medical Tourism

    examples of health tourism

  2. The health tourism system

    examples of health tourism

  3. Wellness Tourism: How to Attract Health-Conscious Travelers

    examples of health tourism

  4. Medical Tourism is a Growing Trend

    examples of health tourism

  5. Step-by-Step Help guide to Medical Tourism

    examples of health tourism

  6. Wellness Tourism

    examples of health tourism

VIDEO

  1. Understanding "Health Prevention": A Guide for English Learners

  2. Risk Assessment EXAMPLES 🔓Top 5 Hazards UNLOCKED 🤓

  3. Do You Have A Wellness Business? Here’s How To Discover If It’s Your Purpose

COMMENTS

  1. What is health tourism and why is it growing?

    Wellness tourism is a type of tourism activity which aims to improve and balance all of the main domains of human life including physical, mental, emotional, occupational, intellectual and spiritual. The primary motivation for the wellness tourist is to engage in preventive, proactive, lifestyle enhancing activities such as fitness, healthy ...

  2. Top 10 Medical Tourism Destinations in the World

    For the health tourism destinations and healthcare providers, the competition is fierce, requiring an interplay of factors to drive medical travel and improve their brand in the medical tourism market. But choosing a destination for one's medical needs can be an arduous task; with multiple risks sold by the media about medical travel, health ...

  3. Health Tourism: Exploring the Industry, Types, and Top Destinations

    According to the Medical Tourism Association, the global medical tourism industry was valued at $58.6 billion in2020, with an estimated 14 million patients traveling for medical treatments each year. This figure is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR)of 12% through 2025, reaching an estimated market value of $142.2 billion.

  4. Medical Tourism Guide: Countries, Benefits, and Risks

    Medical tourism is a lucrative business for many countries, and much of the money brought in by medical tourists is reinvested into the local economy and health infrastructure. The effect of this is apparent in the spa-like luxury that some foreign hospitals offer, providing medical tourists the opportunity to be pampered during their stay for ...

  5. Top Medical Tourism Destinations Worldwide

    Let's explore some of the prominent health tourism destinations in Europe and discover what makes them unique. France, known for its top-level medical expertise across all branches of medicine, remains a favored destination. Germany, known for its excellent medical services and inexpensive surgeries, is a preferred choice for many medical ...

  6. Exploring Health Tourism

    Health tourism is the umbrella term for the subtypes: wellness tourism and medical tourism. Wellness tourism is a type of tourism activity which aims to improve and balance all of the main domains of human life including physical, mental, emotional, occupational, intellectual and spiritual. The primary motivation for the wellness tourist is to engage in preventive, proactive,

  7. Medical Tourism

    Medical tourism is a worldwide, multibillion-dollar market that continues to grow with the rising globalization of health care. Surveillance data indicate that millions of US residents travel internationally for medical care each year. Medical tourism destinations for US residents include Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba ...

  8. Medical Tourism: Travel to Another Country for Medical Care

    Before you travel. Get a pretravel consultation. See your healthcare provider or a travel medicine clinician at least 4-6 weeks before the trip to discuss general information for healthy travel and learn about specific risks you may face because of your health status, the procedure, and travel before and after the procedure.

  9. Medical tourism

    Inconsistency in quality of care is a major source of criticism for the medical tourism industry. One of the primary mechanisms implemented for the standardization of international health care is accreditation.Accreditation attempts to ensure that medical tourism facilities meet basic safety standards, are staffed with trained personnel, and have appropriate medical equipment to perform the ...

  10. The rise of medical tourism: A global perspective

    Explore the rise of medical tourism, its driving factors, popular destinations, and treatments, as well as the challenges and future trends shaping this rapidly growing industry. medical tourism, global perspective, healthcare costs, waiting times, advanced treatments, healthcare quality, travel accessibility, Asia, Latin America, Europe, technology, legal and ethical issues, quality and ...

  11. Medical tourism

    Health tourism is a wider term for travel that focuses on medical treatments and the use of healthcare services. It covers a wide field of health-oriented tourism ranging from preventive and health-conductive treatment to rehabilitational and curative forms of travel. ... For example, in the United States, a liver transplant that may cost US ...

  12. Health and Wellness Tourism Today

    In 2012 it was estimated that a million medical tourists travelled around the world for outbound/ inbound medical tourism. The purpose of health and wellness tourism is medical care and health beauty relaxation recovery and rehabilitation treatments. There are more than a hundred-million health and wellness tourists around the world each year.

  13. What is Medical Tourism?

    Citations. Medical tourism can be defined as the process of traveling outside the country of residence for the purpose of receiving medical care. Growth in the popularity of medical tourism has ...

  14. What Is Medical Tourism? Traveling For Healthcare Explained

    Medical tourism is nothing new. People have been seeking more affordable, sometimes higher-quality care for as long as humans could cross borders. In today's world that usually means travel to ...

  15. Top destinations for health tourism

    Treatment in Thailand comes at 50-70 percent of the cost in the U.S. — and up to 30,000 American health tourists travel there each year, according to the Medical Tourism Research Guide ...

  16. Health and Wellness-Related Travel: A Scoping Study of the Literature

    For example, examining travel for health care through the lens of tourism in the social sciences may contribute to enhancing the understanding of tourism (e.g., Bell et al., 2011). Conversely, business-oriented studies could benefit from a more detailed examination of their studied subjects' sociodemographic and cultural backgrounds and their ...

  17. Medical, Health and Wellness Tourism Research—A Review of the

    Medical travel and tourism, health tourism, wellness tourism, and other similar terms (e.g., birth tourism, cosmetic surgery tourism, dental tourism) tend to be investigated separately in tourism research [15,16,17,18,19,20]. ... For example, this tourism will integrate with Chinese traditional culture. Traditional treatments and remedies will ...

  18. Health Tourism—Subject of Scientific Research: A Literature Review and

    First, health tourism contributes to improvements in individuals' mental and physical health; in that context, an important role is played by the behavioral and emotional dimension and by the experience lived in a tourism destination. Another important aspect to humans is the destination itself and its surroundings, where visitors can undergo ...

  19. Dimensions of the health benefits of wellness tourism: A review

    2. The relationship between health and wellness tourism. The definition of "Health" in "Cihai," an unabridged, comprehensive dictionary, includes two aspects.One is that the main organs are free of disease, the body shape is well developed and uniform, and the human body system has good physiological functions and strong physical constitution.

  20. Top Destinations for Health and Medical Tourism in 2024

    Saint Kitts and Nevis are two islands that make up the Caribbean nation. In the photo, Jenna, her husband Henry Hager and their three children, Mila, 10, Poppy, 8, and Hal, 4, look sun-kissed by ...

  21. Mapping the Sustainable Development in Health Tourism: A Systematic

    Health tourism is recognised as a growing industry. Therefore, sustainable development in health tourism is crucial not only for the well-being of patients but also for destinations and communities. In this sense, sustainable development in health tourism aims to develop solutions related to the environmental, social, and economic challenges faced by the country and the tourism sector. After ...

  22. 15 Examples of Wellness Tourism You Should Know About

    1) Thermal Water or Hot Spring Therapy. These types of wellness tourism examples take advantage of the many hot springs around the world. People travel to these sites for their natural healing properties and ability to provide relief from a number of ailments such as skin problems, cardiovascular disease, respiratory issues, and even muscle ...

  23. Medical Tourism Success Stories: Real-Life Examples of Transformation

    Disclaimer: The content provided in Medical Tourism Magazine (MedicalTourism.com) is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

  24. How Can Helicopters Help Us Determine the Health of Antarctica's Oceans

    Helicopters allowed us to travel to previously unreachable areas and observe the ocean beneath thick sea ice and some icebergs. We could also drop sensors into a 20-m-wide crack in the sea ice off the TIS ( Figure 3A) and a 15-m-wide crack surrounded by icebergs and sea ice near the MUIS ( Figures 3C, D ).

  25. The Effects of Climate Change

    Extreme heat, heavy downpours, and flooding will affect infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, air and water quality, and more. Climate change will also worsen a range of risks to the Great Lakes. Southwest. Climate change has caused increased heat, drought, and insect outbreaks.

  26. What we know about the Baltimore bridge collapse

    A massive cargo ship plowed into Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge Tuesday, causing the 1.6-mile bridge to crumble and plunge cars and people into the frigid water below. Here's what we know.

  27. The Future of Medical Tourism: Emerging Trends and Growth Opportunities

    The growth of medical tourism is creating new opportunities for players in the industry. Travel agencies, for example, are now offering medical tourism packages, and more hospitals and clinics are catering specifically to medical tourists. This is creating a more competitive market, with more options and services available to patients.

  28. Privately owned vehicle (POV) mileage reimbursement rates

    GSA has adjusted all POV mileage reimbursement rates effective January 1, 2024. Modes of transportation. Effective/applicability date. Rate per mile. Airplane*. January 1, 2024. $1.76. If use of privately owned automobile is authorized or if no government-furnished automobile is available. January 1, 2024.