Daily Developments in Health Tourism and the Future

Why Health Tourism
Being healthy and being aware of life are continuously developing notions for the modern human and they want to reach globalized health services in the globalized world to protect and develop their health and reach the most effective treatments available. Gradually, the “very much” aging world population wants to have a healthy older age and doesn’t want to get old. Being healthy isn’t just seen as just physical but at the same time, it’s perceived as “being fit” psychologically and socio-culturally. This changing health paradigm creates the wellness concept. With the sun, sea and sand triplet and the connected classic and “unhealthy” summer vacation understanding is changing place with the modern and healthy concepts of SPA and wellness. As a result, people of today are associating tourism and health and adopting a holistic approach. With the support and ease of reaching information, especially all new scientific and technological developments in the field of modern scientific medicine, not only do people want access to health and treatment but they also want to reach beauty and anti-aging information. It is the summary of these developments that introduces the term health tourism to us. Health tourism isn’t just a new touristic tendency in the world and in our country, the health tourism sector is rapidly growing and developing.

Medical Tourism
One of health tourism’s most important links is medical tourism. Here, surgical interventions like dental, optometry, plastic surgery, cardiovascular and joint prosthetics are an issue and people tend to lean towards hospitals where these interventions and countries are successful and have a price advantage. These countries and centers tend to stick out in South Europe, South Asia and South America because the price of treatment and surgical interventions done in these countries is much lower than the prices in the northern countries. For this reason, the costs for these interventions in some northern countries are covered by official or private health insurance institutions. On the other hand, these countries are easily accessible in terms of distance and they have the infrastructure, equipment, technology and trained personnel which makes their modern medical services effective, beneficial and successful. However, because the production costs of these services in developed northern countries are much less, the costs of these medical services in the southern countries are much less. For this reason, northern country citizens prefer to have these treatments and surgical interventions done in the southern countries because they can cover the costs from their own pockets. However, choice of country isn’t based on the touristic attractiveness but rather the cost effectiveness of the services tend to shape this choice. At this point “medical travel” rather than medical tourism tends to kick in. Now, the country’s touristic attractions and diversity loses its importance. This concept has the potential of becoming even more dominant in the future. Hospitals or health facilities famous for their success or doctors or surgeons famous for their mastery and skills will be among the chosen and preferred in medical tourism.

Thermal Tourism
The first factor of health tourism that comes to mind are the thermal/hot springs tourism, which still maintains its importance and traditionality but stands out as an irreplaceable factor. Actually, thermal treatments have a historical connection with tourism and hot spring visits in the recent years has taken its place on the agenda as a foreign tourism concept rather than a domestic tourism concept. This way, thermal tourism establishes a new and attractive option in terms of health tourism. Especially the potential thermal tourism “customers” or defined properly, “thermal curists” living in central and northern European countries may prefer Turkey’s thermal springs. Because Turkey’s widely known climatic and economic advantages also play a role here. As long as our hot spring facilities are qualified as authentic Turkish Hot Springs with European standards. In addition, by employing trained, experienced and foreign language speaking personnel, they need to produce quality and effect service. Yes, Turkey’s soil is rich in thermal and mineral water sources and on these rich lands, a 5 thousand year hot springs tradition has been developed; however, it must be shown that they can be used in modern facilities with scientific bases. It is only then will Turkey’s hot springs function as the locomotive of health tourism and earn its deserved international respect.

SPA and Wellness Tourism
In our country and the world, in addition to hot springs and thermals, wellness tourism, where other natural and traditional treatments and applications are a majority, is the new face of health tourism. The health tourism activities gathered under this “magical” term of wellness either spices up a classic vacation or is chosen as a package program part of a health vacation. The SPA’s, which were gifts to the health tourism from the wellness tourism, have shown amazing growth-development and are central to health tourism. Especially in South Asian based traditional medicine applications, talassotherapy along the shorelines, Turkish baths an sauna’s in the city, and others with different applications are combined and applied in the SPA’s. SPA’s are established as different types and concepts and this has led the wellness component of health tourism to become diverse. For example, there is HamamSPA, ThaiSPA, Ani-AgingSPA. However, not only in the wellness area but SPA’s are becoming the ideal facility for all areas of health tourism and are predominately preferred. Alternative SPA Centers like “SPAspital”s, “thermalSPA”s of thermal tourism, “shipSPA”s of the wellness tourism area, and “dailySPA” will becoming the shining star of health tourism.

Prof. Dr. M. Zeki Karagülle
President
TURKSPA (Turkish Spas Thalasso and Health Resorts Association)