| Definition
Travelling for health purposes is a combination of two main themes, namely the importance of getting the best medical treatment as possible while having a good leisure time (Clift & Grabowsky, 1997).
Brief History
Travelling for medical reasons started around the sixth century BC in India, Greece and Persia (Douglas & Derrett 2001), and its early form was mostly concerned with the therapeutic values of particular environments, such as the famous spa of Bath in England. Obviously, medical tourism had to evolve in order to accommodate modern needs and changed significantly. According to Bookman and Bookman (2007:42), Medical Tourism is growing only one step behind providers’ imagination. Creative services that compete in novelty, quality, and relevance are popping up daily. As a result, it became an increasingly profitable market for many countries.
The 5 key drivers of medical tourism
a) Technology: Technological improvements like more efficient global transportation and communications systems drive medical tourism. Transportation according to
Duval (2007) is one of the more ubiquitous global economic sectors and its growth shares synergies with growth in tourism. Moreover, artificial intelligence techniques can provide support in many areas relevant for tourism, like promotion, information access, decisions and actions, preparation for the visit, the visit and even after the visit. The flattening of the world through the internet and technology in the medical industry are improving the quality of services.
b) Cost: When patients’ health insurance does not pay for the care they need, or they do not have insurance at all, then the cost of the care is automatically shifted to those patients who actually have one. This is known according to Jagyasi (2008) as ‘cost shifting’. The focus should not be to gain from the economy of other countries or build the tourism sector from needy to sick patients, but rather on providing care for patients. It is a fact that the cost of medical care in developed countries is extremely high. Hence, private, social and corporate health schemes are very expensive.
c) Need: The emergence of new consumer needs, like avoiding long queues to getting medical treatment or the possibility to have the latest available treatment, requires new solutions which are not always available in a consumer’s home country.
d) Demographics: Demographic drivers such as an ageing population due to baby boomers causing significant strain on national healthcare systems are a driving factor as well.
e) Change: Hospitals are adopting the more luxury hotel concept rather than traditional unexciting general wards. After the surgical procedure, there is the opportunity to engage in attractive tourism, which is certainly a better change for the patient.
An understanding of motivation is key to understanding tourist behavior, and to answering the question of why and where people travel. Many texts associated with tourism utilize the concept of motivation as a major influence upon consumer behavior, taking into consideration general theories such as that of ‘Maslow’s hierarchy of needs’.
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