The Growth of Medical Tourism: Recent Trends and Issues

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Author(s): Jerry Eades (University of London, UK)
Copyright: 2015
Pages: 14
Source title: Current Issues and Emerging Trends in Medical Tourism
Source Author(s)/Editor(s): Malcolm Cooper (Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan), Kazem Vafadari (Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University, Japan)and Mayumi Hieda (St. Luke Clinic, Oita, Japan)
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-8574-1.ch025

Keywords: Business & Management / Hospitality, Travel & Tourism Management / Medical Diagnosis and Practice / Medical Information Science Reference

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Abstract

In the late 2000s, the author wrote a summary paper on the rise of medical tourism. That paper discussed the rapid growth of interest in medical, health and wellness tourism, especially since 2003. The medical tourism industry has a long history, but this massive growth is a new phenomenon. The important factors are: the changing distribution of medical services and technologies; the growth of interest among both local medical practitioners and travel agents; the packaging of tourism and medical services as a single product; and, most significantly, the availability of the Internet to disseminate information them, creating a global market. The present chapter considers first the burgeoning literature on medical tourism. Second, the processes of development in countries becoming the main players in the international provision of medical services are discussed. Third, the chapter looks at the debates surrounding the rise of medical tourism in the developed countries.

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