Chapter iii-
Typologies of health related tourism
A. Medical Tourism - travelling to another
country for medical treatment.
- Medical tourism can be defined as the process
of traveling outside the country of residence for
the purpose of receiving medical care. Growth
in the popularity of medical tourism has
captured the attention of policy-makers,
researchers and the media.
- Originally, the term referred to the travel of
patients from less-developed countries to
developed nations in pursuit of the treatments
not available in their homeland.
-Today we are experiencing both qualitative and
quantitative shifts in patient mobility, as people
travel from richer to less-developed countries in
order to access health services. Such shift is
mostly driven by the relative low-cost of
treatments in less developed nations, the
availability of inexpensive flights and increased
marketing and online consumer information
about the availability of medical services.
-Today we are experiencing both qualitative and
quantitative shifts in patient mobility, as people
travel from richer to less-developed countries in
order to access health services. Such shift is
mostly driven by the relative low-cost of
treatments in less developed nations, the
availability of inexpensive flights and increased
marketing and online consumer information
about the availability of medical services.
- What really puts the word "tourism" in
medical tourism concept is that people often
stay in the foreign country after the medical
procedure. Travelers can thus take advantage of
their visit by sightseeing, taking day trips or
participating in any other traditional tourism
activities.
Top 10 Medical Tourism Destinations in the
World
- According to the Medical Tourism Index, which
assesses the attractiveness of countries for
medical travel, a country’s economy and public
image, healthcare costs, and quality of care are
the major factors that drive medical tourism
growth in a destination.
- Using these metrics, here are the top 10
medical tourism destinations in the world.
1. Canada
2. Singapore
3. Japan
4. Spain well-being.
5. United Kingdom Most spas have some form of water-based
treatments; however there is a difference
6. Dubai between mineral, thermal, and healing waters.
7. Costa Rica ● Mineral waters : it has at least the set amount
8. Israel of dissolved mineral content which is minimum
9. Abu Dhabi 500 mg/l or 1000 mg/l
10. India ● Thermal waters: natural waters that are at
B. SPA TOURISM least 30 ° C or 32 ° C at source (this can vary
country by country)
- Spa tourism is part of the wellness tourism in ● Healing waters: the healing effects have to be
which the experience is associated with proven, that is evidence-based
activities that involve health improvement
through hydrotherapy or balneotherapy. The International Spa Association (ISPA, 2007)
- The International SPA Association defines spa has defined the ‘ ten domains of SPA ’ or
as a place devoted to overall wellbeing through segments of the industry as:
a variety of professional services that encourage 1. ‘ The Waters ’
the renewal of mind, body, and spirit.  2. Food, nourishment, diet, and nutrition
- It is commonly claimed, in a commercial 3. Movement, exercise, and fitness
context, that the word is an acronym of various 4. Touch, massage, and bodywork
Latin phrases, such as salus per aquam or 5. Mind/body/spirit
sanitas per aquam, meaning "health through 6. Aesthetics, skin care, natural beauty agents
water". 7. Physical space, climatology, global ecology
- Tourism which focuses on the relaxation or 8. Social/cultural arts and values, spa culture
healing of the body using mainly water-based 9. Management, marketing, and operations
treatments; such as, mineral or thermal pools, 10. Time, Rhythm, and Cycles
steam rooms; and saunas. Emphasis tends to be SPA Categories
focused on curing, rehabilitating, or resting the
body.
*Club spa – is a facility offering primarily fitness
ISPA also defines the key elements of the spa services as well as a few other services
experience: rendered to daily users normally by spas in the
Relax (e.g. stress management) broader sense;
Reflect (e.g. meditation ● Day spa – is a facility offering beauty, fitness,
Revitalize (e.g. energy and rejuvenation) and wellness programs without
Rejoice (e.g. happiness and entertainment) accommodation; and the duration of services
varies between an hour and a full day;
- Spas may differ widely in terms of what they ● Spa hotel – a spa offering hotel
offer, that is their services or treatment supply, accommodation and normally several days of all
however, they have one thing in common, inclusive programs designed to ensure physical,
which is the aspiration to improve health and spiritual, and mental balance;
* Resort spa – a resort in a remote location of
beautiful natural setting normally detached
from civilization, offering a wide array of
wellness services and programs in an all
inclusive arrangement to guests;
● Sport spa – an establishment offering spa
services and special sports programs (the latter
could range from golf through skiing and
angling to training for running the Marathon);
● Structured spa – an establishment operating
by strict rules, which offers guests the chance to
attain a specific objective (e.g. weight loss).
Holistic spa – a spa that offers alternative
therapy and diet (for instance, vegetarian, or
macrobiotic cuisine) in an effort to make
positive adjustments to the mindset of guests;
● Medical spa – is a facility that offers
traditional and complementary therapeutic and
health protection treatment as well as other spa
services and may also include health
institutions;
● Bath – a spa constructed to utilize natural
mineral, medicinal, or sea water located on site
by offering hydrotherapy to guests;
* Resort spa – a resort in a remote location of
beautiful natural setting normally detached
from civilization, offering a wide array of
wellness services and programs in an all
inclusive arrangement to guests;
● Sport spa – an establishment offering spa
services and special sports programs (the latter
could range from golf through skiing and
angling to training for running the Marathon);
● Structured spa – an establishment operating
by strict rules, which offers guests the chance to
attain a specific objective (e.g. weight loss).
C. Spiritual Tourism
- Tourism that focuses on the spiritual quest of
the individual is leading to transcendence or
enlightenment. This may or may not have a
religious affiliation, but it is often likely to
include rituals, ceremonies, and traditions that
are derived from different religions.
- Spiritual tourism can be either religious or
secular or may combine elements of both. It is
always difficult to make a distinction between
cultural tourism and religious tourism, as many
visitors to religious buildings (e.g. temples,
churches, mosques, synagogues) have non-
religious motivations.
- The same is true of spiritual tourists who may
be seekers on a quest for enlightenment, and
for whom religious buildings offer a calm
sanctuary in which they can feel meditative and
transcend everyday life.
- Those spiritual tourists who are predominantly
secular or disillusioned with organized religion
may journey instead to spiritual landscapes (e.g.
mountaintops, deserts, oceans).
D. Holistic, Alternative, ‘New Age ‘Tourism
- Holistic tourism means that a tourist can enjoy
a different and full experience which goes
beyond the simple contact with cultures,
people, places or landscapes.
- It focuses on self-transformation and on an
attempt of people understanding more about
themselves.
- Yoga and meditation could be said to be sub-
sectors of holistic tourism but also of spiritual
tourism. Iyengar (1989) once said that ‘ yoga is
not a religion but is meant for individual growth
and for physical, emotional, intellectual, and
spiritual balance ’ .
- Yoga and meditation are practices, which are
ideally integrated into everyday life, but many
people first discover them as part of a holistic
holiday.
- Alternative tourism, also known as specific
interest tourism (SIT) involves travel that
encourages interaction with local government,
people and communities.
- Many travelers choose alternative tourism
because they love nature and want to preserve
it.
- Some of the approaches by alternative tourism
involve ecotourism, adventure tourism, rural
tourism, sustainable tourism, solidarity tourism,
etc.

New Age Tourism

- When this self-development and realization

are turned into a leisure activity we can call it
New Age Tourism.
- It is more a means than an end in itself, thus
the essence of this type of tourism is in the
exploration of alternative culture as a leisure
activity.
- It is a manifestation of identity as well as
sustainable tourism .

E. Wellness Tourism