Medical Tourism. Compatibilities and Incompatibilities When Medical Services are Provided Along With Tourism Services

Over the last years the term ‘medical tourism’ is often quoted in the scientific literature, especially by medicine scientists. In addition to this, the term is also used by social scientists end economists, as tourism is an important social phenomenon featuring cultural, environmental and economic dimensions. Nevertheless, travel as a basic component of tourism cannot be considered as the exclusive element so that a person’s displacement outside one’s place of residence to the place where medical services are provided can fall under the category of ‘medical tourism’. Althoughthistermisacceptableintermsofentrepreneurship, itis a confusing term withinacademia. This ambiguity impedes policy makers to map out an appropriate tourism policy in the field of health, aiming at sustainable tourism development. This paper seeks to explore, through a literature review, the use of the term ‘medical tourism’ and its relevant concepts by stakeholders both in the areas of tourism and health. The main finding is that even though the term ‘medical tourism’ is widely used, it is not an appropriate one. With regard to its content, it is highly confusing due to the contradiction deriving from the terms ‘tourism’ and ‘medical treatment’, as key components of medical tourism. We seek to distinguish between long-term patients who travel to seek leisure (health tourism) and patients who travel primarily for health rehabilitation (health travel). This analysis is likely to contribute to a more rational tourism policy in the area of health.