Such tourism does not draw masses but rather it appeals to a select number of people whose demand is big enough to generate suffi cient business. Medical tourism, with its component medical and tourist parts, has both a market and an audience. Unlike ecotourism, in which a traveler will choose a destination and then seek an ecology focus, in medical tourism the traveler chooses medical care first, and only then pairs it with a destination and possibly even a vacation tie-in.
As all tourism is goal oriented (in the sense that travelers want to see a sight, or experience a tribal encounter, or touch a historical artifact, or simply party), so too medical tourism occurs with a specifi c goal in mind. The traveling patient aims to purchase a particular service and to achieve a defined health goal. That patient seeks to maximize utility subject to his income constraints. In that calculation, medical services dominate, but nonmedical services, including the accommodations, restaurant meals, excursions, and ground transportation, are not insignifi cant to the total experience.
In his efforts to minimize costs of health care, the patient has become a tourist. In his efforts to maximize utility, Homo Turisticus has become a niche seeker. That particular niche calls for a seamless integration between the medical and the hospitality industries. The result of this integration is the market for medical tourism. To understand this market in developing countries, one must examine both demand and supply. With respect to demand, we must ask: who are the international patients, where do they come from, and why are they seeking health care outside of their own home states?
What else are they hoping to experience in less developed countries? We assume they are rational consumers who voluntarily partake in foreign health care, although we cannot make assumptions about their proximate motivations. There are push and pull factors that need to be explored, as medical tourism is rarely just about cost savings. Alternatively we question whether they fell ill while they were in a developing country (on business or pleasure), or whether they traveled specifi cally for medical care.
Understanding who medical tourists are, where they come from, and what determines their demand is crucial for nurturing the industry, guiding its future expansion, and understanding its potential for growth in developing countries. In other words, understanding demand for medical tourism will clarify its possible role as a leading sector in economic development.
This tourist demand does not exist in isolation and cannot independently realize the industry potential. As with any market, the supply of medical tourism must complement demand since in the absence of either, there can be no transaction or exchange.
Medical Tourism and Dependency
