We can hear the term medical tourism more and more often, primarily because it is the latest type of tourism that is gaining momentum in the world. But what exactly is medical tourism? This type of tourism is the travel of people to other countries or cities with the aim of receiving medical treatments in that country.
Medical tourism is first and foremost a way to improve health safety and improve the health of travelers by going to a specific destination.
Recently, the Balkans is one of the destinations to visit due to medical tourism, mainly due to dentists and cosmetic surgery, which are much cheaper here than elsewhere, and when it comes to physical medicine and types of physical therapy, the offers are even more favorable.
If you are interested in how medical tourism originated and what this type of tourism looks like, you can find out all about it below.
How did the concept of medical tourism in Europe originate?
As you may already know, it was the Europeans who developed the concept of a modern resort, or spa, where one goes to recover from a serious or long illness. The trend was started by the British, ie the British elite who believed that sea water and air had a healing effect on the body, which is why England experienced a real boom of various spas and spas for those who could afford a trip there.
Modern medical tourism has developed a step further than classic spas and spas, and today involves providing a wide range of sophisticated and high quality services. This type of tourism is rapidly becoming an extremely profitable business that is developing rapidly in many countries around the world.
Some countries even specialize in certain types of procedures, such as Hungary for dentistry or Thailand for gender reassignment surgery. Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Colombia are best known for their plastic surgery services. There are also a number of travel agencies that offer insurance for tourists before and after an aesthetic procedure, or recovery.
The greatest threat of using medical services in another country for potential users is the possible uncertainty, and the possibility of obtaining inadequate health care in relation to what is expected, and in relation to what he would receive in his own country.
Medical tourism in Balkan
Although there is interest, on the world map of health tourism, Balkan countries still have not managed to do much about the development of this lucrative business. What they lack above all is the development of the strategy at the national level, although there is great interest, especially for clinics in Nis, and private clinics in Serbia.
What further complicates our potential is the fact that Serbia is not a member of the European Union, and that they do not have defined health care standards.
What is very popular in Serbia and which is flourishing as a business, is the procedure of gender reassignment, where there were about 200 Serbian citizens and over 1000 foreigners among the patients, and the great popularity was awakened by the singer’s son Cher, who stated that he wanted to do gender reassignment in Belgrade.
Dental tourism is also popular with foreigners, which has become very popular in our country in the last few years, mainly thanks to the initiative and personal acquaintances of our dentists. When comparing the prices of individual services in Europe and America, the prices of dental services in our country are two times lower.
The busiest dates are around Easter and the May Day holidays, when it is the holiday season, when visitors want to combine the beautiful and the useful. The Internet has also contributed a lot to all that, since now all potential patients can check how and when to go, without the mediation of the agency. Foreign patients choose Serbia primarily because they can hardly afford what they can do here with top experts and with excellent materials in their countries.
It is predicted that Serbia could easily become the new hope of medical tourism, since it has great potential, capable staff and beautiful landscapes, and the only thing it needs is greater initiative and a responsible strategy to achieve that.