Journal of Tourism & Hospitality
Open Access

Abstract

Medical Tourism: An Emerging Terrain with Covid-19

Elaine T. Jurkowski, Anthony O. Agbeh

The world is undergoing a major crisis due to COVID-19 and most industries are being severely affected, although Medical Tourism is one of the hardest hit. The trends of travelling abroad for medical conditions came to a slowdown and near screeching halt as a result of the outbreak of COVID-19. Thousands of travelers were forced to cancel trips or postpone due to the outbreak. Travel abroad has become uncertain and risky, while borders have been closed to major countries and travel to some regions has been banned. This has affected the health care providers, the tourism industry as well as individuals seeking medical attention. COVID-19 has greatly impacted elective surgeries around the world, creating intended and unintended consequences. This paper is an attempt by the authors to share the impact of this pandemic on medical tourism along with suggestions for recovery.

Published Date: 2020-11-13; Received Date: 2020-09-24