Global Health Tourism: Reasons, Types, and Top Destinations
Health focused travel is on the rise. All across the globe, patients are choosing facilities, connecting with physicians, and booking flights, all in the name of health care. Medical tourism is becoming a common topic online and in news outlets, however that is only one aspect of global health tourism.
Not everyone participating in global health tourism is a medical patient. Travel for health and wellness can be proactive, reactive or preventative, looking for procedures after a diagnosis or improving physical and mental health through wellness retreats.
What Are the Different Types of Health Tourism?
When most people hear about health tourism, it is common to immediately assume complex medical procedures. However, the term health tourism covers a wide range of services. Global healthcare tourism can be broken down into three primary categories: medical tourism, wellness tourism and aesthetic tourism. There is often some crossover within these types of health tourism, yet each has its own distinct features.
- Medical Tourism: Patients seeking medical treatments and surgical procedures fall under the umbrella of medical tourism. This term often covers clinical procedures including cervical spine surgeries, hip and knee replacements, dental work and fertility treatments. The medical tourism industry is primarily reactive, following a diagnosis from a physician.
- Wellness Tourism: Over the past decade, the importance of mental health has become a major talking point at home and in the media. This type of health tourism puts an emphasis on proactive care in a holistic way, covering body and mind. Common wellness tourism includes yoga retreats, travelling for spa treatments, and trips that are geared toward fitness, meditation or relaxation.
- Aesthetic Tourism: It is common for Canadians to travel for cosmetic surgery. This type of tourism can include everything from rhinoplasty, breast augmentation, dental care and more. Certain countries have become famous for creating aspirational profiles in terms of beauty and aesthetics. This will see patients flocking to book their next cosmetic treatments and travelling to meet with specialists across the globe.
Global health tourism involves travelling to another country for medical procedures or wellness treatments. These services can be complex surgical procedures, dental work, standard health checks or spa and wellness retreats.
Seeking Medical Care Abroad: When to Leave the Home Country
For patients living in Canada or the United States, several key elements encourage individuals and patients to take their health and wellness journeys on the road. Some of the more common factors when choosing health tourism include accessibility, cost and long waiting times. Instead of waiting weeks or months for expensive treatments, patients are booking flights to improve their physical and mental wellbeing.
The good news is that there are multiple countries to choose from when seeking out health and wellness treatments. In addition to lower costs and shorter wait times, health and wellness tourists can benefit from the added privacy of seeking care abroad. Medical patients can return home after a recovery period without having to disclose that they’ve had procedures at all.
There has been a long standing misconception that the West is the leader of global medical care, and there has been a significant shift in recent years. More and more countries are taking note of the opportunities presented by global health tourism.
Top Destinations For Global Health Tourism
Where you travel for medical or wellness treatments will largely depend on the type of treatment or experience that you are looking for. Just as doctors or surgeons have their own specialties, certain countries are renowned for their contributions to the world of health and wellness.
Many of the top travel destinations are taking note of the rising popularity within the global medical tourism market. By marketing healthcare services and creating infrastructures that facilitate medical travel, countries are creating tourism hubs around the world.
- India: India is well-known for a commitment to traditional wellness practices, as well as alternative therapies. Indian medical systems also excel in cardiology, oncology, orthopedics and fertility treatments.
- Thailand: Thailand has created a robust and established tourism infrastructure catering to spa tourism and wellness. Affordable travel options make this a popular spot for tourists from around the globe.
- Japan: Japan is renowned around the world for its advanced medical technologies and availability of procedures. Cutting-edge medical devices and techniques make necessary treatments accessible to a wider range of patients.
- Spain: Patients will travel far and wide to access Spain’s top cosmetic surgeons. Medical teams will work closely with patients to schedule procedures, as well as map out recovery times and any necessary after-care.
- Hungary: Natural thermal hot springs are part of the landscape in Hungary, which has made it a hot spot for wellness tourism. In addition to wellness, Hungary offers up options for advanced dental surgery.
- Mexico: Every year, Mexico welcomes a significant number of patients for a range of medical and surgical services, including bariatric surgery, orthopedic procedures and cosmetic surgeries.
- Turkey: Government officials in Turkey have invested heavily in advanced medical technology and facilities, as well as marketing to patients, and it shows. This country has become known globally as a hub for hair transplants and cosmetic surgery.
Patients will work with experienced medical travel agencies to choose their medical facility, physician or surgeon, as well as organize visas, travel documents, transportation and accommodations. Agencies like Venture Surgical help to safely facilitate medical care abroad, connecting patients with physicians and facilitating safe travel. All it takes is one trip abroad to improve your quality of life at home.
