“TOURISM TIDBITS” FROM TOURISM & MORE, INC. – August – A Two-Part Series on Medical Tourism
Posted on August 1, 2025
“TOURISM TIDBITS”
FROM
TOURISM & MORE, INC.
The goal of “Tourism Tidbits” is to provide travel professionals with a monthly, easy-to-read overview of creative ideas. With proper referencing, we invite you to quote or reproduce “Tourism Tidbits” and to pass it along to friends.
“Tourism Tidbits” is published monthly in English. Spanish, and Portuguese. The Spanish translation is from Ferran Anguera of Barcelona, Spain. The Portuguese translation is by Lillian Donati Godinho of Lisbon, Portugal.
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Tourism & More’s
Tourism Tidbits
August 2025 issue
A Two-Part Series on Medical Tourism
Part One: Is Medical Tourism Right for Your Community
One of the fastest growing trends in the world of tourism is medical tourism. Medical tourism can mean many different things and when discussing it, it is important to be precise. From the patient’s (purchaser’s) perspective, medical tourism can refer to anything from travel to a destination for medical reasons, such as cancer centers, or for specific operations such a coronary bypass, to travel to a destination for medicinal, psychological, or even spiritual reasons, meditation centers, or a wide variety of spas. Medicinal tourism can be a term that refers to centers that cater not only to the sick but also to those who seek new levels of physical, mental or spiritual enhancement. Examples of this form of medical tourism are spas or centers that offer non-essential cosmetic re-makes and weight loss. Medical tourism of the hospital variety differs from the spa variety of tourism in that it aims to serve those who are sick and those who are accompanying the ill person. The latter type of medical tourism seeks clients who plan on returning on a regular basis, the former type of medical tourism seeks to heal the person so that s/he shall not have to return for additional care.
Elective medical tourism, such as the spa variety of tourism, has been around for thousands of years. In ancient times places such as northern Israel and Rome attracted visitors from much of the known world. Across the millennia then spa tourism has provided visitors with non-invasive therapies, and opportunities to improve physical fitness. In the modern world, spas also provide their guests with weight-loss treatments, special cleansing diets, and a variety of mineral and thermal skin treatments. Many spas also offer massage and yoga classes as additional ways to improve health and to de-stress.
Necessary tourism differs in that it often provides professionals, technology, or pricing that the consumer cannot obtain in his/her home location. Thus, people might travel long distances to consult with or be under the care of a particular physician or medical team or might be seeking good care at a price that is unavailable in their home location.
Both separate phenomena are often classified as “medical tourism” and although their raisons d’être are very different, they also share many similarities. Both forms of medical tourism also can provide essential services to a local population and thus “stay-experiences” rather than “travel experiences”.
Tourism Tidbits suggests that you consider some of the following ideas to help you determine if medical tourism is a good choice for your community, and if so, what type of inbound medical tourism to develop.
-Determine what health factors make your community unique. Marketable health factors can include exceptionally clean air, unique waters with minerals, quiet settings, and any other natural phenomenon unique to your community that would provide the traveler with health benefits.
-Make sure that your medical personnel understand the importance of a good bedside manner. In the world of medical tourism, physicians, nurses, and therapists are more than medical professionals. They also comprise a part of the tourism industry, and their patients are also “tourists”. That means that it is imperative to not only train medical tourism workers in their medical field but also to train them in customer service and the tourism product. How they treat their patients may well determine a patient’s willingness to return and what they tell others about their experience.
-Merge your tourism offerings with the local ambiance. Medical tourism is about creating psychological and physical harmony. Make sure to offer a wide variety of options, but at the same time, honor the place in which your tourism is located and integrate local culture and foods into your medical tourism surroundings and protocols.
-Make your hospitals user and visitor friendly. We generally view hospitals as places for the sick rather than wellness centers. Hospital tourism means not only integrating the patient with the local community but also seeking new ways to add to the person’s total wholeness. During the patient’s recovery phase, provide the patient’s family with day trips that help the patient heal socially. Develop special brochures for out-of-towners who are visiting sick friends and relatives. Remember that these visitors are in your community due to a loved one’s illness. They need excellent customer service, ways to relieve tension, and still feel that they are close to loved ones.
-Make sure that your medical tourism meets industry standards. Medical tourism is in an existential sense different from many other forms of tourism in that it involves the health and wellbeing of a guest. Make sure to meet all standards, advertise only what you can deliver and ensure that people understand the risks involved. The bottom line is that while transparency is essential in all forms of tourism, it is especially important in medical tourism.
-Take the time to get your medical tourism right! Terms such as medical tourism, spa tourism and wellness tourism are often used so loosely that no one is sure what these terms mean. Be truthful in your advertising; say what you offer and what you do not offer so that the customer is clear about the experience s/he is purchasing. Also be certain that resources, such as water (as used in spas), are tested on a regular basis so as not to turn a medicinal tourism experience into an illness-acquired experience.
– Make sure that you create medical tourism partner agencies. A significant issue in medical tourism is what can a patient do after s/he has returned home and has a problem. Good medical tourism centers can provide 24 hour/7 day a week medical hot lines, but often a patient needs more than just a phone call. Medical records must be sent home in the patient’s local language or in a language that the local doctor can read. Establish relationships with partner hospitals and medical providers around the world and make sure that medical prescriptions can be filled in the patient’s country.
-Deal with the insurance problems before, and not after. Many visitors in both medical and medicinal tourism may want to use a local insurance plan. Be sure to list in your literature payment structures and whose insurance your institutions can accept. There is nothing less pleasant than having a fight over money when it comes to health and these disputes often cause visitors to have a negative reaction to the host community and not just the health provider. Make sure that health providers understand that they are an essential part of the community’s economic health and what they do or not do reflects on – and is likely to affect the medical tourism industry in the whole community.
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The Art of the Assessment Study
Assessment studies are to tourism what medical check-ups are to people. Every locale needs to have a full assessment study to determine both tourism strengths and weaknesses, to build a better industry and to avoid future problems. Please contact Tourism & More for details.
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TOURISM AND MORE’S WIDE RANGE OF SPEECHES AND TRAINING SEMINARS
For a complete listing of topics and information, please check our web page http://www.tourismandmore.com/contact or e-mail us at ptarlow@tourismandmore.com.
Please email ptarlow@tourismandmore.com for more information regarding costs and available dates.
All seminars and speeches can be presented in English, Portuguese, or Spanish.
1) Tourism challenges in a post-Covid world.
2) Political advocacy through tourism: Using tourism to change the perception of your locale, business or nation
3) New forms of tourism: from agro-tourism to dark tourism
4) Tourism and Heath: Surviving the Next Pandemic.
5) Surviving man-made and natural disasters
6) Successful and failed tourism marketing strategies.
7) Avoiding tourism crises by using good risk management techniques
8) Dealing with over- and under- tourism, how to match the number of visitors to your locale’s capabilities
9) Tourism Confronts Terrorism: What You Need to Know to Maintain a Viable Industry in the Face of Terrorism
10) Training Your Police: Tourism Oriented Policing (TOPPs), how it works and why it is essential for a viable tourism industry.
11) Generational Marketing: How to market tourism to diverse age groups
12) Medical tourism: its advantages and the challenges
13) Something from Nothing: The Art of Creating New Attractions.
14) Dealing with the Media: Transforming the Media into your friend
15) Selling to the Latin American Tourism Market: No, they are not all the same!
16) Selling to the US Market: One country and lots of niche groups
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Books on Tourism in English
Please see our newest book
Human Trafficking and the Tourism Industry
By Peter Tarlow and Andrew Spencer
Available through Emerald Publishers or on Amazon at
In alphabetical order by title. Most of these books are available at Amazon.com or from the publisher.
In alphabetical order by title. Most of these books are available at Amazon.com or from the publisher
(see below for Spanish and Portuguese language books)
1) A Supply Chain Management Guide to Business by Betty Kildow; BettyKildow@comcast.net
2) Beach Safety and the Law, edited by Jeff Wilks published by Queensland (Australia) Law Society
3) Challenges to US and Mexican Police and Tourism Stability: Peter E. Tarlow, Emerald Publishing. Available at the Emerald Book store or at Amazon https://books.emeraldinsight.com/book/detail/challenges-to-us-and-mexican-police-and-tourism-stability/?k=9781803824062
4) Event Risk Management and Safety (ISBN 0-471-40168-4) by Peter E. Tarlow, published by John Wiley & Sons. Presenting theory and practical applications. To purchase this book, visit http://www.wiley.com or http://www.amazon.com. If you would like Dr. Tarlow to speak or train people in this area, please contact him at ptarlow@tourismandmore.com
5) Leisure Travel: A Marketing Handbook, by Stanley Plog, Pearson Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2004. Available through the website of Pearson Prentice-Hall for $25.
6) Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism (7th edition) by Philip T. Kotler (Author), John T. Bowen (Author), James Makens Ph.D. (Author), Seyhmus Baloglu (Author). Available on Amazon.
7) Media Strategies for Marketing Places in Crisis, by Eli Avraham and Eran Ketter Published by Elsevier
8) Personal Reconstruction, by Peter E. Tarlow, Tom Marrs, Nathaniel Tarlow & Eduardo Leite. How to prevent or recover from a personal crisis. Available at Amazon.
9) Personal Resilience, by Peter E. Tarlow and Séverine Obertelli, Quest Publishing, Miami, Florida
10) Restoring Tourism Destinations in Crisis by Dr. David Beirman: Published by Allen & Unwin (Australia & SE Asia) and CABI Publishing North America/ Europe 2003. For more information contact david.beirman@uts.edu.au
or go to: https://au.sagepub.com/en-gb/oce/tourism-crises-and-destination-recovery/book256475
11) Sports Travel Security by Peter E. Tarlow, published by Elsevier
12) Terrorism and the Economy, edited by Karin W. Glaser, For more information please go to: http://www.elevenpub.com/law/catalogus/terrorism-and-the-economy-1#
13) The Economics of Tourism Destinations, by Norbert Vanhove, Published by Elsevier
14) The Ethics of Terrorism: Innovative Approaches from an International Perspective. Eds Thomas Albert: Publisher: Charles C. Thomas, Springfield, Il; USA.
15) The Sage Encyclopedia of Travel and Tourism; Three Volume Series, Published by Sage
16) Tourism Crises and Destination Recovery, by David Beirman, Published by Sage Australia. For more information contact David Beirman at David.Beirman@uts.edu.au
17) The Tourism Gaze 3.0 by John Urry and Jonas Larsen. An all-new updated version of a great classic. Published by Sage.
18) Tourism: Principles and Practices, by John Fletcher, Alan Fyall, David Gilbert, and Stephen Wanhill. Published by Pearson
19) Tourism and Mobility, Burns, P. and Novelli M. eds. (Wallingford: CABI)
20) Tourism Development: Growth, Myths and Inequalities, Burns, P. and Novelli, M. eds. (2008). (Wallingford: CABI)
21) Tourism Safety and the Security for the Caribbean, Drs. Andrew Spencer and Peter E. Tarlow, Published by Emerald
22) Tourism in Turbulent Times. Toward Safe Experiences for Visitors. Edited by Jeff Wilks, Donna Pendergast, and Peter Leggart. Published by Elsevier.
22) Tourism Management: Analysis, Behavior and Strategy, edited by Woodside and Martin, published by Cabi, London, England
23) Tourism-Oriented Policing and Protective Services, Peter E. Tarlow, published by IGI
24) Tourism Security: Strategies for Effectively Managing Travel Risk and Safety by Peter E. Tarlow, Elsevier, ISBN: 978-0-12-411570-5
25) Tourism Security & Safety, from Theory to Practice. Edited by Yoel Mansfeld and Abraham Pizam, published by Elsevier.
26) The 2020 Election: A Survivor’s Guide; Peter E. Tarlow and Steve Vincent, Doppler Printing
27) Twenty Years of Tourism Tidbits: by Dr. Peter E. Tarlow and Dr. Tom Marrs. Available now on Kindle and Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/TWENTY-YEARS-TOURISM-TIDBITS-ebook/dp/B004Q9TIWW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=books&qid=1299276788&sr=1-2
28) 24 Sustainable Cultural Tourism: Small-Scale Solutions by Susan Guyette, Ph.D. ISBN: 978-0-9858788-0-1, On Amazon.com
29) 25 Marketing Strategies to Build Your Outdoor Recreation Business by Evanne Schmarder and Peter Pelland. Published by Train Rec Productions. Please contact E. Schmarder at evanne@roadabode.com to purchase this book or find it on Amazon
Libros en español/ Livros em Português
1. Abordagem Multidisciplinar dos Cruzeiros Turísticos (A Multi-disciplinary Approach to the Study of Cruises) por Dr. Peter E. Tarlow, Ericka Amorim, Cyntia Andrade, Nina Cardona Valéria Mariotti. Por favor contato Ericka Amorim: erickaaa@msn.com.
2) Antropologia e Turismo. Teorias, métodos e praxis, por Xerardo Pereiro e Filipa Fernande. Para comprarlo dirijase a
<http://www.pasosonline.org/es/colecciones/pasos-edita/151-numero-20-antropologia-e-turismo?
3) Desarrollo del turismo en América Latina: fases, enfoques e internacionalización por Wallingre, N. Disponible en http://eyapublicaciones.web.unq.edu.ar
4) Geografía y Turismo. Aspectos territoriales del manejo y gestión del turismo. Editorial Félix Varela. La Habana, 2013, 295 páginas. Autor: Eros Salinas Chávez, contacto: esalinas@ftur.uh.cu
5) Inversión Hotelera, por Alfredo Ascanio. http://etrillas.com.mx/trillas/busqueda/php
6). La Nueva Fiebre del Oro. Las otras ciudades del turismo en el Caribe (Varadero, Bavaro-Punta Cana). Para obter uma copiea deste livro, visite: GGU-AGE: http://www.uib.es/ggu/publicaciones.html OCDS UIB:http://cooperacio.uib.cat/digitalAssets/221/221991_Las-otras-ciudades-del-turismo-en-El-Caribe.pdf
7) ¿Ocio o….Neg-Ocio? por Abelardo Pagani
8) Principios, Organización, y práctica de turismo, Ramón Martín, Editorial Felix Valela, Havana, Cuba
9) Productos Turísticos, Medina, Santqamariana, y Salinas, Escuela de Altos Estudios de Hoteleria y Turismo, La Habana, Cuba
10) Turismo en el Caribe, por “Jesús Manuel González Pérez y otros. Contacto Dr. Gonzalez por información adicional]: jesus.gonzalez@uib.es
11) Turismo Sustentable, por Alfredo Ascanio y Marcus Vinicius. http://etrillas.com.mx/trillas/busqueda/php
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About the Author:
Peter E. Tarlow, Ph.D. is the President of Tourism & More, Inc., a founder of the Texas chapter of TTRA, and a popular author and speaker on tourism. Tarlow is a specialist in the areas of the sociology of tourism, economic development, tourism safety and security. Tarlow speaks at governors’ and state conferences on tourism and conducts seminars throughout the world and for numerous agencies and universities.
If you know of anyone else who might enjoy “Tourism Tidbits,” please send his/her email address to ptarlow@tourismandmore.com, Please let us know of any topic that you would like to see covered by “Tourism Tidbits.” We invite others to submit articles for consideration for publication.
You are welcome to reproduce “Tourism Tidbits” or any part of “Tourism Tidbits” with proper referencing. We hope that you will see “Tourism Tidbits” as a place where tourism, visitor, and travel professionals exchange ideas and information. “Tourism Tidbits” does not offer or provide specific legal or financial advice. Our goal is to provide a “review” for industry personnel and discuss provocative issues. We remind all readers that every specific business decision should be made only after you have done the proper research. The authors accept no responsibility for any loss due to any information published in “Tourism Tidbits.”
All articles sent to “Tourism Tidbits” and accepted for publication are owned by “Tourism Tidbits” and may be subjected to editorial review and rewriting (with permission of the author). All questions about “Tourism Tidbits”, suggestions, or cancellations should be addressed to Dr. Peter E. Tarlow at ptarlow@tourismandmore.com.