Medical tourism

Medical tourism, where patients travel overseas for operations and various invasive therapies, has grown rapidly since the late 1990s, especially for cosmetic surgery. The main sources of such tourists are developed countries and the main destinations are in Asia. Conventional tourism has been a by-product of this growth, despite its tourist packaging, but the overall benefi ts to the tourism industry have been considerable. The rise of medical tourism emphasizes a number of contemporary themes including the privatization of health care in postindustrial economies, the growing dependence on technology, uneven access to health resources, the accelerated globalization of health care and tourism, rampant consumerism and cherishing the body beautiful.

Từ khóa: Medical tourism, cosmetic surgery, tourism industry, dental treatment, y tế du lịch, sức khỏe du lịch