The
Roundtable 'Exploring Health Tourism' gathered a group of international experts
in Budapest, Hungary, to better understand and explore the growing segment of
wellness and medical tourism. The meeting was convened by the World Tourism
Organization (UNWTO) and the European Travel Commission (ETC), as part of their
joint research programme, with the support of the Hungarian Tourism Agency.
The
two-day event held in Budapest gathered experts from the World Health
Organization (WHO), the European Union (EU), the World Travel and Tourism
Council (WTTC), the European Spas Association, the Global Wellness Institute
and Spaincares among others. Representatives from the health-related tourism
sector from Hungary, Lithuania, Malaysia and Mexico attended the event.
Gusztáv
Bienerth, Hungarian Commissioner for Tourism, highlighted the importance of
health-related tourism in Hungary's tourism sector, as well as the role of the
country in the global market of health tourism, while underlining the relevance
of the event.
Discussions
were based on the ongoing ETC and UNWTO research on health tourism, a complex
and not yet well-defined segment. This report is the first attempt to set a
coherent conceptualization of health tourism and define the motivations behind
travelers looking for health-related services.
"The
need to better understand an emerging, global, complex and rapidly changing
phenomenon such as wellness and medical tourism has become essential to tap
into its growth potential", said Márcio Favilla, UNWTO Executive Director
for Operational Programmes and Institutional Relations.
"For
ETC and UNWTO it is very important that we provide tourism authorities,
managers and experts with a better understanding of the health tourism
phenomenon and jointly cooperate to identify and provide a consistent terminology
that lays the foundations for this promising sector", said Eduardo
Santander, Executive Director of ETC.
Participants
debated the taxonomy proposed in the research to agree on a consistent
terminology to define and describe the system of travelling for health
purposes. Furthermore, the Roundtable explored the latest trends shaping health
tourism and how tourism destinations can tap into these opportunities.
The final
report establishing common grounds for a health-related tourism taxonomy will
be published by the end of 2016.
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