scholarly journals A Survey of Perspectives and Factors in the Development of Medical Tourism in the Middle East

2021 ◽  
Vol In Press (In Press) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Hosseini ◽  
Abasat Mirzaei

Context: One of the most important sciences in the tourism industry, which has numerous financial and social benefits, is health and medical tourism. The health tourism industry is an organized trip out of the living environment to maintain, promote, or restore the health of the mind and body of an individual through medical intervention. Evidence Acquisition: Firstly, 80 articles were identified in different sources. After removing duplicate copies, the number of articles relevant to the study title reached 58. After reviewing the abstracts or full-texts, 35 articles were included in the study based on defined criteria. Results: The gradual growth of medical tourism has numerous economic and social benefits for both the host community and guests. If medical tourism grows, numerous economic sectors will be directly and indirectly affected, providing ground for social cohesion and integration. The health sector is a critical sector for the development of countries in terms of income and employment, including numerous sub-departments, such as hospitals, medical devices, and clinical trials. Coastal tourism and natural resources are also crucial in terms of income and employment. Conclusions: Factors affecting medical and health tourism include medical travel agencies, the Internet and social media, political and economic conditions, commitment to post discharge services, regulatory standards, price transparency, confidentiality of patient medical records, and care costs. Medical issues are related to travel legal issues, residence and flight visas, quality and credibility of health care, and specialty of physician’s credentials.

Introduction. Health tourism is considered a kind of tourism which is carried out for the purpose of prevention of various diseases and the recreation and provides for guests accommodation in sanatorium-and-spa establishments. This is a special form of tourism, which includes providing medical treatment (often non-drug) or health improvement services. Problem formulation. Health tourism takes one of the leading places in the tourism industry. This is mostly caused by the increase in the population wellbeing. Analysis of recent research and publications. Studies of the development of health tourism in general and in the Lviv region in particular are presented in the works of many Ukrainian and foreign scientists. The article fulfilled the analysis of foreign and domestic sources, which allowed to identify the following ideas that are of interest for the study of health tourism in Lviv region and many other regions of Ukraine Highlighting previously unsolved parts of the overall problem. The fulfilled study allowed us to assess approaches to the analysis of the current state of health tourism in general and in the Lviv region in particular. The literature is dominated by the opinion that the resort sphere of Lviv region attracts tourists with both favorable prices and a wide range of available services. The issues of estimating the tourist flows coming into the territory of Lviv region were also considered. At the same time, insufficient attention was paid to the study of the status of medical tourism, to the substantiation of proposals aimed at optimizing the development and the improvement of functioning of spa resorts in Lviv region. Formulating the purpose of the paper. The focus of this paper will be set on an objective assessment of the current conditions of the tourism industry based on a quantitative analysis of available statistical data with cartographic and modern statistical methods. Presentation of the main research material. The main directions of formation and development of health tourism in the world are outlined. Cheap health care and leisure services are provided mainly in the resorts of Asia, Latin America and Australia, as well as in some European countries. This is due to the cost of labor, as well as global pricing mechanisms. The main stages in the development of health tourism in Lviv region are distinguished. The description of Lviv region as an arena for the development of health tourism is given. Spa resorts of Lviv region are attractive first of all by the prices, and also by the wide range of available services. The resort sphere of Lviv region has been studied. Tourist flows in the region are being characterized. Conclusions. The main means of popularizing spa resorts of Lviv region have been identified, including advertising, Internet sources, exhibitions, forums and conferences. The proposals have been worked out directed on optimization of development and improvement of functioning of spa resorts of the Lviv region.


2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-181
Author(s):  
Ya-Ling Huang

The purpose – Accurately forecasting the demand for international health tourism is important to newly-emerging markets in the world. The aim of this study was presents a more suitable and accurate model for forecasting the demand for health tourism that should be more theoretically useful. Design – Applying GM(1,1) with adaptive levels of α (hereafter GM(1,1)-α model) to provide a concise prediction model that will improve the ability to forecast the demand for health tourism in Asian countries. Methodology – In order to verify the feasibility of the proposed approach, using available secondary and primary data covering the period from 2002 through 2009 obtained from the RNCOS “Opportunities in Asian Health tourism” report. Based on a unique and characteristics database for the health tourism industry, this study applies the adaptive α in a Grey forecasting model (GM(1,1)-α) to predict the demand for health tourism in Asian countries. Approach – Implementation of demand forecasting in health tourism is examined on the short-term and limited dataset, due to importance of a minimum the predicated error on underlying basis for the econometric model for health tourism markets. Findings – Key findings present that the optimal value of α in GM(1,1) can minimize the predicted error. Finally, in the case of the demand for health tourism in Asian countries, using GM(1,1)-α to predict error is clearly better than the use of the original GM(1,1) and time series models. The originality of this research – The originality comes from the analysis of the demand forecasting in health tourism of Asian countries, which provides an easy and accurate method to predict the demand for health medical tourism and ideas for further improvements in the sector of health tourism.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 222-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dr Padmasani ◽  
V. Remya

Health/Medical tourism is a booming niche tourism market in the tourism industry. The main reason for the increasing trend is the high cost of treatment, long waiting time, less insurance coverage in developed countries and the attitude of people to spend holidays in a quality manner with the aim of improving health. In India, Kerala is emerging as a prime health tourism hub for its Ayurveda packages. The state attracts millions of foreign and domestic tourists to visit the state’s incredible heritage and experience the traditional nature based treatment therapies. The volume of tourist arrivals in Kerala had experienced a stupendous growth of 7.7 per cent in 2014 from 4.3 per cent in 2001 (Annual report of Tourism Statistics, Department of Tourism, Government of Kerala). This study aims to profile the tourists visiting Kerala for Ayurvedic treatment and to identify the destination image factors making Kerala an attractive place for Ayurveda health tourism. For this purpose, 150 domestic tourists availing Ayurvedic treatment in Kerala were selected on the convenience of the researcher. In order to analyse the objectives, the Descriptive Statistics, Factor Analysis and One-way ANOVA were employed and the results revealed that service quality, attraction, opportunity, benefits and promotion were the destination image factors making Kerala an attractive place for Ayurvedic Health Tourism. The present study identifies the strength of Kerala for Ayurveda health tourism which helps the destination managers and the service providers witha better understanding of the market for elevating Kerala and its Ayurveda in this niche market.Int. J. Soc. Sci. Manage. Vol-2, issue-3: 222-227 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijssm.v2i3.12755 


2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 754-772
Author(s):  
Alejandro Cerón ◽  
Valorie A. Crooks ◽  
Ronald Labonté ◽  
Jeremy Snyder ◽  
Walter Flores

This article explores how existing health inequities in the Guatemalan health system facilitate the emergence of its medical tourism industry. We report on our thematic analysis of 50 key informant interviews conducted with 4 groups of stakeholders in the local medical tourism sector. Participants frequently discussed the interplay between the country’s longstanding health inequities and the promotion of medical tourism, characterized by 4 thematic viewpoints: the private health sector is already flourishing; the highly fragmented health system already faces multiple challenges; the underfunded public health sector has a weak regulatory capacity; and the commodification of health care has already advanced. Medical tourism and health inequities shape each other in low- and middle-income countries. In addition to the potential for medical tourism to exacerbate health inequities, previously existing health inequities create opportunities for the industry’s growth. Although regulation of the medical tourism industry is necessary, it needs to be implemented both at the domestic and supranational levels for it to be effective in preventing greater health inequities, and it needs to address the political and economic drivers that make health systems generate health disparities.


Author(s):  
Mark Anthony Camilleri

This chapter introduces its readers to the concept of tourism. It sheds light on the rationale for tourism, as it explains the tourists' inherent motivations to travel. It also describes different aspects that together make up the tourism industry. Tourists travel to destinations that are accessible to them. They require accommodation if they are visiting a place for more than 24 hours. Leisure and business travelers may also visit attractions and engage themselves in recreational activities. Hence, the tourist destinations should have the right amenities and facilities. In this light, this chapter clarifies how destinations may offer different products to satisfy a wide array of tourists. Tourism products can include urban (or city) tourism, seaside tourism, rural tourism, ecotourism, wine tourism, culinary tourism, health tourism, medical tourism, religious tourism, cultural (or heritage) tourism, sports tourism, educational tourism, business tourism (including meetings, incentives, conferences, and events), among others.


Author(s):  
Christina Appiah-Nimo ◽  
Gloria K.Q. Agyapong ◽  
Daniel Ofori

UN sustainable development goals has triggered production and consumption patterns aimed at achieving a better and more sustainable future for all by 2030. Sustainable value chain has become a business approach to mitigate the tragedy of the commons. Initiatives that promote socially and environmentally responsible behavior whiles pursuing business value is being leveraged across all economic sectors. COVID-19 has exposed how today's business is threatened more than ever by unsustainable production and consumer behavior patterns. The hospitality sector has not been left out of this challenge as the tourism industry was the worst hit by this pandemic. All over the world, the growth of the tourism industry is propelled by the movement of people and the subsequent need created for the hospitality sector. The global health crises, coupled with consumers' growing interest for sustainable environment has fueled the desire for more eco-friendly products by the sector. Moreover, every consumer goes through a cognitive decision-making process to finally make a choice for a product - and there is a high probability of the decision to inform the sustainable consumption pattern of the consumer and also the magnitude of the effect the decision will have on the environment. This implies that every consumer purchase has implications regarding not only economics (Stone, 1954) but ethics and sustainability. Keywords: consumer booking intention, shopping orientation, sustainable initiatives


Author(s):  
Ajay Kumar Dogra ◽  
Pooja Dogra

The health tourism Industry is witnessing a sudden paradigm shift in last five years. India has become a home of traditional medicine that has been practiced for several thousand years as a part of manav dharma to give relief to the needy and mostly free of cost. With modern diagnostic and treatment facilities, experienced surgeons, one of the largest pharmaceutical industries in world, and a tradition of caring, India provides world class surgical and healthcare facilities, with comparable success rates and prompt service levels. The potential of medical tourism is such that it can even surpass the revenue earned from IT sector. Recognizing the pivotal contribution of medical tourism to the economic development, the Indian Government has initiated numerous measures to promote this vary young industry to attract international tourism. This has motivated to identify recent trends and opportunities in India for the medical and healthcare tourism, and to explore the critical factors which can lead to success of initiatives taken by ministry of tourism for the development of medical tourism in India. Finally paper suggests measures to enhance medical tourism in the country.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 467-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matvey S. Oborin ◽  
Irina Kozhushkina ◽  
Tatyana Gvarliani ◽  
Nikolay Ivanov

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the modern problems and the main trends of development of the health-improving tourism sector in the southern part of Russia and to identify significant factors in overcoming the complex challenges related to specific socio-economic conditions in the study area. Design/methodology/approach The material that served as the basis of the study comprises statistical data from the Southern Federal District and its subjects, as well as data about the development of tourism infrastructure on the official websites of governments, Ministry of Tourism and the population of the Southern Federal District. This information was systematized from a number of perspectives, including identification of the chronology of health-improving tourism infrastructure development in the chosen territory, as well as the advantages and disadvantages in this area. Based on the results of the study, the authors also developed some recommendations to overcome existing inactive trends in the field of health tourism. Findings This paper sheds light on the understanding of the challenges and changes that took place in the resort agglomerations of the south of Russia in terms of current issues and those that must be addressed in the coming years. It was concluded that health tourism in the south of Russia has old traditions based on the natural resource potential of territories that are included in the composition of the Southern Federal District. At the same time, the authors came to the conclusion that, unfortunately, not resort agglomerations are fully utilized. Furthermore, some historic resorts were not well maintained by local authorities and have suffered more recently because of lack of investment. At present, the financial results of health resorts and others related to health-improving tourism are precarious as most operations are unprofitable, and so complex decisions are needed to address the underlying problem of resource optimization because of the important social and economic role of the cities in this region. They have special natural and resource potential and preserve traditions related to health-improving tourism. Research limitations/implications The paper provides a conceptual analysis based on limited empirical data combined with some directions for further research. Originality/value The paper attempts to reveal the impact of social, economic and geopolitical factors, both negative and positive, on the development of the health-improving tourism segment, restructuring of the Russian tourism market and the emergence of promising opportunities and new directions for development. The findings also provide insights for practitioners and researchers, and the tourism industry can draw on this analysis to guide the development of strategy, increase investment attractiveness, make more effective use of the natural resource potential and maintain pressure on government partners to provide support to tourism.


2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Hritz ◽  
Craig Ross

Sport tourism is one of the fastest growing market segments in the tourism industry and is receiving increased attention for its social, environmental, and economic impacts upon destinations. Prior research in tourism impacts has tended to focus exclusively on tourism as a whole and does not differentiate among the different types of tourism that may be present in a destination. The purpose of this study was to examine how residents of Indianapolis, Indiana perceived the impacts sport tourism has upon their city. A total of 347 surveys were returned in a mailed questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a four factor structure of social benefits, environmental benefits, economic benefits, and general negative impacts. Social and economic benefits were strong predictors for support for further sport tourism development revealing a strong identification with the advantages of sport tourism in their city such as an increased cultural identity and social interaction opportunities.


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