Medical tourism can be defined as the process of traveling outside the country of residence for the
purpose of receiving medical care. Growth in the popularity of medical tourism has captured the
attention of policy-makers, researchers and the media. Originally, the term referred to the travel of
patients from less-developed countries to developed nations in pursuit of the treatments not available in
their homeland.
Today we are experiencing both qualitative and quantitative shifts in patient mobility, as people travel
from richer to less-developed countries in order to access health services. Such shift is mostly driven by
the relative low-cost of treatments in less developed nations, the availability of inexpensive flights and
increased marketing and online consumer information about the availability of medical services.
What really puts the word "tourism" in medical tourism concept is that people often stay in the foreign
country after the medical procedure. Travelers can thus take advantage of their visit by sightseeing,
taking day trips or participating in any other traditional tourism activities.