CHAPTER – 1
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
The Travel and Tourism industry is still one of the largest single businesses in world commerce and its importance is widely recognized. The tourism industry is now one of the largest sectors earning foreign exchange. In the face of many benefits, many countries have started assigning due weight age to the tourism industry in their national development agenda. Tourism is an industry that operates on a massively broad scale: it embraces activities ranging from the smallest sea-side hotel; to air-lines, multi-national hotel chains and major international tour operators. Originally, non-traditional industries such as tourism emerged as a solution to strike a balance between ecology and industry •
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This may include activities such as mountaineering, trekking, bungee jumping, mountain biking, rafting, zip-lining and rock climbing.
MEDICAL TOURS
Medical tourism (also called medical travel, health tourism or global healthcare) is a term initially coined by travel agencies and the mass media to describe the rapidly-growing practice of travelling across international borders to obtain health care. It also refers pejoratively to the practice of healthcare providers travelling internationally to deliver healthcare. With world travel market having undergone significant changes over the last few years a new type of tourist has emerged known as the Free Independent Traveler or Tourist (FIT). The definition is broad but tends to refer to people over 35, often, though not necessarily, of above average income who like to travel in small groups, usually couples. They eschew mass tourism and the holiday package concept promoted by Travel operators, in favour of a more individualistic approach to travel. There are two implications to the idea of the Free Independent Traveler. One is important in the context of a marketing niche with a distinct economic behavior whilst the other concentrates more on the philosophy of travel. This distinction can be summarized in how they are described. For the economic importance of tourism and for marketing purposes they are Free Independent Travelers (Upper
As mentioned by Rimmington & Morrison (2009), the assistance from different parts of the world presents a new and diverse outlook for future research including theoretical innovations and revelations, cultural and environmental aspects, tourist destination and other ecotourism and recreational aspects of tourism and hospitality industry (Brotherton,
Tourism has taken a toll on many Native Hawaiians and is a huge human rights issue today. Most Hawaiians dislike tourism greatly due to the selfishness and greediness tourists bring to their home country. The pastor at a small rural church on the island of Kauai, Reverend Kaleo Patterson, has witnessed and dealt with numerous Hawaiians who struggle with the issues of tourism. Numerous vacation resorts that attract tourists have taken over gravesites of Hawaiians that have passed away. Due to this problem ancient Hawaiians have to partake in reburials. Tourism causes destruction to coral reefs and rivers because of mindless pollution. Reverend Patterson has protested and given public hearings in effort to acknowledge her fury on tourism. Tourism has brought an uncontrollable worldwide business that has no sympathy or thoughtfulness for the original people of Hawaii.
Medical tourism refers to people traveling to country other than their own to receive medical treatment. Medical tourism is something that I personally have mixed feelings for, since if you don’t do thorough research then you could end up getting a botched procedure. It is something that has turned into multibillion dollar industry, and it will only continue to grow. Individuals across the world can engage in medical tourism for any reason, whether it be to obtain better medical service, or find medical services at a cheaper cost. In the medical tourism market, “which represents some 7 million patients worldwide, France hosts less than 10,000 patients” (Desvigne). This is because France has only recently approved of the idea
The tourism industry has grown exponentially over the previous twenty years, it is now a worldwide industry, both in terms of tourists and host destinations, and ‘is no longer confined to the developed countries that traditionally provided the demand for world travel’ (Page & Connell, 2006, pp.4). World leaders have long been recognising the huge economic advantages that a booming tourism industry can bring to their nations, and vast amounts of money have been invested set up the infrastructure to support such an industry. However, aside from the large economic advantages to the industry, there are inevitably negative impacts to the host nation and the world as a whole. These negative impacts usually materialise in the form of
According to Lee Ann Eissler, a nurse practitioner defines medical tourism as “organized travel outside of someone’s healthcare jurisdiction to enhance or restore health.” The traveling aspect can be as close as the next state or as far away as the other side of the world. Patients who are medical tourists seek care for various health complications such as cancer treatments, surgery, and even dental care.
Imagine a person having a medical condition that required treatment from a doctor. If a medically ill person had the option to receive treatment in a hospital in the United States or a hospital in another country on the beach, I am sure most people would choose treatment at the hospital on the beach. For centuries people have not only traveled for sunnier climates and relaxation, people also traveled because they wanted a cure for their medical conditions.The ancient greeks and Egyptians traveled to the Mediterranean to take advantage of the healing hot springs. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Americans and Europeans would travel to different spas in the hopes of curing tuberculosis and other deadly diseases (Stolley and Watson 1). Although the idea of patients traveling for health care is not a new idea, the name associated with it, medical tourism, is. Medical tourism is a new global economy in which patients travel to a foreign country to get health care (Stolley and Watson 1). To many people, traveling to another country for health care seems unnecessary and dangerous. However, there are numerous benefits to medical tourism. Medical tourism is all about patients getting the best medical care at the lowest cost. Medical tourism offers patients health care at a lower cost, the opportunity to have experimental procedures done that are not offered in the United States, and shorter wait times for procedures.
When referring to the tourism industry, it is essential to understand its difficulty. There does not existing an industry with a ordinary structure functioning as an entity. Rather an congregation of multiple diverse industries and factors influencing each other and usually forming the tourism environment represents it.
In the global tourism a significant growth has been started since the end of the Second World War, namely after the commercial airline industry and the advent of the jet airplane in the 1950’s was created. As the tourism demand was increasing many governments and entrepreneurs decided to invest in the tourism sector.
The case study in the text talks about the way that tourism has been viewed in the past and the way that professionals are starting to think now. In the past, tourism was seen as a one size fits all type of medium for entertainment. However, researchers have begun to realize that not every person wants to have the same tourism experience. The case study relates "based upon taking perspectives of cultural studies, feminism, ethics, post-modernism, power/politics, world making, and mobilities and applying them to tourism." The tourism professional occupies a very diverse world that requires a critical thinker to determine the best destination possibilities for a wide variety of people. Therefore, it is important that post-graduate studies include the findings gleaned from other areas of study to determine how various clients will want to experience their leisure time. Since there are as many destinations and types of activities as there are
Tourism is the travel tour activities which provides travelers leisure facilities and service industry. And it is also a kind of leisure entertainment that has complex social phenomenon, involves the politics, economy, culture, history, geography, law, and other social fields. Generally speaking, tourism has a profound impact for the country.
Medical tourism is seen to be a new concept, however, individuals in the 18th and 19th centuries people traveled far and wide to reach clinics and physicians, the only difference in current times is the distance of travel. Medical tourism has many benefits that affect patients, physicians, hospitals, and the government, these benefits include low-cost treatment, quicker surgical periods, a boost in the economy, increase hospital revenue and enhance efficiency with fewer regulations. With progressive upgrades in developing countries, medical tourism is becoming
The tourism industry has become an increasingly important source of revenue for many countries. In the global environment concept, the tourism is the main communicator and promotor of the international trade. The expansion of the tourism creates many advantages and also cause some critical issues including social dislocations, Negative impacts on local culture and social structure, disruptive for the ecological and biological diversity. The minimising negative impact and managing the tourism industry with more educational economical and profitable concept call the sustainable tourism. ( WTO 1998)
In recent times, with the improvement of people’s living standards, the demand of traveling is increasingly rising. According to the UNWTO, the number of tourists traveling oversea yearly is over one billion (World Tourism Organization, 2016). Not only has this massive figure made tourism one of the key industries, it also makes up 10% of worldwide GDP and 6% of the total export turnover of the world (T. Rifai, 27 September 2015, personal communication). Tourism is a “fertile ground” for all nations in the world, especially developing countries to boost their economic growth, preserve their own proud culture and protect the environment. However, apart from these advantages, the disadvantages that it brings are undeniable. Tourism has both positive and negative effects on the economy, environment and society.
According to the World Tourism Organization, tourism is the world's number one export earner, ahead of automotive products and petroleum, with more than 600 million people travelling to foreign countries during 2000, spending more than US$ 400 billion and all the tourism receipts internationally have total to more than US$ 500 billion. With all the people on the move, available space and time, affordable airfares, new, exciting destination and globalization, clearly resulted to the growth of tourism (Burns, 2005).
Robinson and Novelli (2005) note ‘niche tourism’ has become a growing trend occurring in current years in contrast to what is frequently related to as ‘mass tourism’. Cusack and Dixon (2006) add niche tourism is known to present diversity and provide opportunities with a form of tourism that aims towards sustainability alongside considering expenditure from tourists. Furthermore, it suggests a more practical set of strategies that distinguishes tourists. Gartner (1996) demonstrates how niche tourism consists of distinct interests, culture and/or activity built tourism including small proportion of tourist in authentic surroundings. Moreover, niche tourism can fall into more specific categories where cultural, environmental,