What we anticipate in our destinations is not holiness or divine visions, but something even more miraculous-the opportunity to feel different from the way we feel at home. It is as if the act of traveling to a certain place in the world entitles us to feel happier and more alive.-Eri Chaline (2002)
With a plethora of spas and medical wellness facilities to choose from across the globe, it is only natural that when one decides to travel abroad for a medical procedure, the patient would need somewhere to recover and their companion somewhere to retreat.Vacations are seen as an opportunity to unwind and to escape from the daily grind, but when you seek something that stimulates one's mind, body and soul, one might find refuge in a spa or medical wellness facility. We find that there are no real defining lines throughout history and depending on what country you are standing in, the terms themselves may signify different, unrelated services.The medical wellness boom came to North America in the 1950's and developed into a sustainable industry in the 1970's. Although the idea seemed modern, the practice of uniting the spiritual and the physical body dates as far back as 5000 B.C. when ancient civilizations in India practiced Ayurveda, the practice of enhancing an individual's overall lifestyle through massage and nutrition. Forms of relaxation such as Roman and Turkish baths were also introduced and were popularized over the centuries.Reaching from the past and bringing the idea to a new millennium, the medical wellness industry is experiencing a new era of popularity by adding the element of travel. Bringing the spa experience to new heights, health tourism has been brought to the forefront as it not only introduces the client to new wellness ideals, but also stimulates all the senses by being set in a foreign location. With medical tourism gaining momentum, patients travel abroad with a companion, many times leaving the companion with little to do ~ enter health tourism. Spas and wellness facilities abroad target these tourists and open these client's eyes to unique wellness practices.The future of health tourism is still unknown, but as practices become more advanced and the hybridization and globalization of treatments from throughout the world continues to increase, the future of a booming industry looks bright. Moreover, through education it is anticipated that health tourism and medical tourism will overlap more significantly.Medical wellness, in all its varied forms, is an industry that cannot be defined in few words. Combining the medicinal, scientific aspect and the preventative, holistic approach of wellness, leaves such a wide gap for interpretation that makes it difficult to define the industry as a whole. More than looking for an exact definition, view these two approaches as separate beings, what they offer and how they come together to create an experience.According to the World Health Organization's 1984 definition of health, health is defined as "a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living; it is as a positive concept, emphasizing social and personal resources as well as physical capabilities."This definition makes the distinction between the health / medical concepts. The medical aspect of medical wellness involves cures for ailments of the physical, as well as the biological and psychological.Wellness, on the other hand, is seen as more of a preventative form of medicine, rather than a curable form. By integrating physical activity, proper nutrition and lifestyle changes, overall wellness of body, mind and soul can be achieved.When both medicinal and wellness aspects combine, they create a power couple that could remedy current ailments, possibly prevent future ones and improve quality of life. Moreover, contemporary spas have successfully fused these two concepts and have introduced an industry that connects East and West through physical, holistic and spiritual treatments.Health and Wellness Tourism, co-authored by Melanie Smith and László Puczkó, describe a contemporary wellness tourism experience as one that stimulates the psychological, spiritual, emotional and the physical, collectively.Medical wellness spas exist throughout the world with each location using its individual natural resources and culture to influence its treatments. For example, in countries, such as Austria, Hungary and Italy, the use of thermal springs are used to alleviate particular ailments and also relieve stress. Similarly, Thalassotherapy, the medical use of seawater, is practiced in destinations of the Mediterranean and Ireland. This type of therapy is beneficial for weight loss and relief of joint pain and circulation problems.In Asian countries, such as Thailand and Sri Lanka, yoga, meditation and massage are heavily integrated in medical wellness treatments. These countries take an overall holistic approach by creating a balance between the mental, physical and spiritual. Ayurveda, another ancient approach, is widely used in India and in certain parts of Europe and uses massage and nutrition to improve wellness. In most Middle Eastern and Asian countries, the integration of spirituality and religion in overall wellness is not seen as an extra, but as a vital part of the experience.As spas and the medical wellness industry expands, globalization and hybridization of ideals from both ends of the hemisphere merge to create diverse wellness facilities here and abroad.For example, countries in the Caribbean, such as Costa Rica provide hospitals that specialize in orthopedic and general surgeries, but also provide wellness retreats and spas that target both the tourist and the patient.The Caribbean is only one of many regions around the globe that has caught hold of the trend and now markets to both clients. With scenic, natural resources as its backdrop, countries are not only able to market their exceptional healthcare and hospitals, but also their medical wellness facilities.As the medical tourism industry gains popularity, it is expected that health tourism will be positively affected. With globalization and hybridization of practices, the medical wellness industry is stepping into the new millennium and offering services the contemporary client needs. Not just focusing on one aspect of wellness, spas and medical wellness facilities are putting an emphasis on overall improvement in quality of life that harmonizes all the elements of body and soul in an international setting.Welcome to the launching of the new era of Health Tourism Magazine, which will focus on all of these dynamics and bring them do your home and office and hopefully make a tremendous impact on your life. We look forward to receiving your feedback about topics which would be of interest to you.
