Medical tourism and medical tourists: providing a sustainable course to integrating health treatments with tourism

Abstract

Medical tourism (MT) is an expanding multidisciplinary economic activity that combines the healthcare and tourist industries, with patients increasingly travelling worldwide for medical treatments. MT provides economic benefits to destinations while raising ethical, quality, informed and risk concerns for medical tourists. Greater cross-disciplinary studies and collaboration across sectors are advocated.

Keywords: Medical tourism (MT); community support; legislation; rehabilitation; tourism destination.