HAT304: Analysis of Emerging Issues in Medical Tourism

This report analyzes the emerging issues in medical tourism within the Australian context, focusing on the touchpoints of travelers. It begins by defining medical tourism and its classifications, highlighting the shift from developed to developing nations for cost-effective treatments. The report ident...Read More

Running head: EMERGING ISSUES IN HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM
EMERGING ISSUES IN HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1EMERGING ISSUES IN HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM
Introduction
The purpose of this paper will be to identify the touch points of the travellers with the
medical tourism in Australia along with identification and analyse of the central issues in
each of the identified touch points of the travellers. Critical examination and evaluation of
various solutions in the context of this business which will help to rectify the issues that has
been identified will also be discussed in this paper.
About Medical Tourism
In this context, it can be said that medical tourism involves the people who travels
from one place to another for the purpose of medical treatment. There are regions which are
famous for medical treatments and people from other parts of the world come to those places
in order to receive better treatment. This happened in the developed nations where people
from developing nations travel to those developed nations to receive better treatment (Lunt,
Horsfall and Hanefeld 2016). But, now the scenario has changed and the opposite scenario
can be seen, where people from the developed nations travel to the developing nations in
order to receive lower-priced medical facilities. The span of staying in the regions where the
travellers visit for medical treatments may vary according to the type of treatment that the
patient will over go. There are classifications in the medical tourism that involves within the
medical services, which can be classified as plastic surgery, cancer treatment, periodical
medical tests and surgery (Kelley 2013).
Touch Points of the Travellers
The touch points which has been identified within the medical tourism are given
under this heading. It can be stated in this context that touch points are defined as the
encounter or interactions between the travel agent or travel agency and the ultimate

2EMERGING ISSUES IN HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM
customers, where exchange of information, transactions and services are performed between
the two parties. The identified touch points bare given as follows (Ormond and Sulianti
2017):
Dreaming / Inspirational
Planning / Pre-Trip
Booking / In-Destination
Experiencing / Post-Trip

3EMERGING ISSUES IN HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM
Identification and Analyse the Touch Points
After drawing the touch points of the potential travellers in the context of medical
tourism, the central issues will be identified as well as analysed in this section. It can be
stated in this context that advancement in the field of technology has changes the overall
dynamics of the medical tourism all over the world, which also includes the region of
Australia. It has been seen that almost 15,000 people from this region travel to other places to
receive medical treatment each year. The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons and the
Australian Medical Association though has warned against this form of tourism as they has
stated it as risky affair. Almost $300 million worth of money is spent by the Australians on
cosmetic surgery tourism sector alone (Betterhealth.vic.gov.au 2019). Sightseeing is
sometimes included with this medical tourism sector by the travellers.
In the dreaming or inspirational part the central issue is the type of treatment which is
required by the traveller, which will help to select the location where the treatment for that
particular medical issue will be done. This forms the beginning of the medical tourism
process by the travellers and this plays an integral part in the overall process. Selection of the
right place will help to receive the treatment properly, so it can be stated that selection of the
correct place by the travellers is important to start the overall process of medical tourism. In
the second stage, which is planning or pre-trip, here efficient planning need to be done
regarding visiting the identified place and calculating the amount of money that can be spent
while receiving the treatment in the identified place. Proper planning will help to save the
overall expenditure as well as will help to take less time in the treatment process (Imison and
Schweinsberg 2013).
In booking or in-destination stage, arrangements are done like booking of the place of
accommodation, travel rickets and other necessary things, which will assure of the journey of
that traveller to the identified place. Confirmations are required in order to receive proper and

4EMERGING ISSUES IN HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM
effective medical treatment. In the last stage, which is experiencing or post-trip, the type of
treatment plays an important part here. If efficient treatment is received, then the satisfied
traveller will again visit that place on order to receive any kind of medical treatment for
future purpose, apart from referring other people to visit that place to receive treatment
(Hanefeld et al 2013).
Recommendations
The issues which has been identified in the above discussion possess areas of
improvement by the management of medical tourism organizations, so that better facilities
can be provided to the travellers and effective treatment can be provided to the people who
require medical treatment. More travellers can be attracted by the government and other
private institutions from where the medical treatment will be provided to the international
travellers. The recommended steps are given as follows:
The first and foremost issue that needs to be rectified is the selection of the places.
Proper search engines and tools need to be implemented so that the travellers can choose the
exact place where they can go and receive the exact treatment, which can be cured with
incurring less amount of time.
Another area which needs improvement is the quality of healthcare facilities that are
given to the travellers who are visiting the international places. Improved and better quality
will help to promote the place through word-of-mouth promotion.
Proper infrastructure along with availability of medicines need to be provided to the
people who are coming from international tourists to receive treatment in the context of
medical tourism. This will help to attract more travellers from around the world and receive
treatment according to their requirement (Hall 2013).

5EMERGING ISSUES IN HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM
Reference
Betterhealth.vic.gov.au. (2019). Medical tourism. [online] Available at:
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/HealthyLiving/medical-tourism [Accessed 19
Dec. 2019].
Hall, C.M. ed., 2013. Medical tourism: The ethics, regulation, and marketing of health
mobility (Vol. 33). Routledge.
Hanefeld, J., Horsfall, D., Lunt, N. and Smith, R., 2013. Medical tourism: a cost or benefit to
the NHS?. PLoS One, 8(10), p.e70406.
Imison, M. and Schweinsberg, S., 2013. Australian news media framing of medical tourism
in low-and middle-income countries: a content review. BMC public health, 13(1), p.109.
Kelley, E., 2013. Medical tourism. WTO Patient Safety Programme.
Lunt, N., Horsfall, D. and Hanefeld, J., 2016. Medical tourism: A snapshot of evidence on
treatment abroad. Maturitas, 88, pp.37-44.
Noree, T., Hanefeld, J. and Smith, R., 2016. Medical tourism in Thailand: a cross-sectional
study. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 94(1), p.30.
Ormond, M. and Sulianti, D., 2017. More than medical tourism: lessons from Indonesia and
Malaysia on South–South intra-regional medical travel. Current Issues in Tourism, 20(1),
pp.94-110.