Top destinations for health and wellness tourism in Europe

Because cross border trends are more and more increasing which make health care services are more accessible across the globe.

small paradise on earth and the sun shines all year round / Ph: Pexels@Anastasiia Petrova

An important new element in the growing of the healthcare industry is that patients are being treated at another country; This phenomenon has promoted the formation of medical tourism. Medical tourism is made when patients choose to travel across the borders of another country with the intention of receiving some form of health care. The treatments may be last for a long time to fully utilize medical services, but usually includes dental care, cosmetic surgery, elective surgery, and birth control.Medical tourism has existed since ancient times, but by the 21st century, the demand for medical tourism has shifted towards moving patients from richer and more developed countries to poor countries. Being developed to gain access to health care services, mainly due to the low-cost treatments available in healthcare services supported by cheap flights and internet resources.

The health tourism industry is dynamic but also very volatile due to objective factors including business environment, domestic policy changes, political instability, travel restrictions, practicalities, advertisement,…

Medical combining with wellness travel is one of the travel trends with incredible growth in the world with an increase of over 20% per year.  According to a report by The Global Wellness Institute, the value of the global healthcare industry reached US $3,400 billion, triple the revenue of the pharmaceutical industry. In particular, tourism combined with healthcare contributed an important part with the 2015 revenue of 563 billion USD. This is one of the world's leading travel trends with an annual growth rate of over 20%.

Many countries are leading in this trend with famous health tourism products, such as Japan with hot mineral water spas (onsen), South Korea with famous skincare and aesthetic industry... However, it is impossible not to mention the health and wellness retreat packages in Europe.

Instead of resorting simply, some tourists are choosing a form of tourism combined with health care and spiritual life. Traveling with health care is the concept of physical and mental care, this wellness tour is a combination of the two concepts. This wellness tour is designed for 2 purposes: improving your health and spirit through physical, psychological or spiritual activities. This wellness travel type focuses on the experience of the visitors at the sights.

Specifically, when taking the first-Class health and wellness retreats in Europe, visitors will practice a special course to find balance in the spirit. Specialists will apply separate care, meditation, yoga, daily massage ... Visitors to these attractions will detoxify and purify the body with a separate diet to rejuvenate the body.

Most resorts where focus on the health and wellbeing retreats in Europe are designed so that visitors can spend time for themselves, explore nature and enjoy the distance from everyday life. Therapeutic spas are also built on the resort's grounds so that guests can restore strength and find a balance in the mind.

The health tourism concept is not new. Health tourism came thousands of years before. Greek pilgrims traveled from the vast Mediterranean region to the tiny territory of Saronic Bay called Epidauria. This land was originally a place of worship god Asklepios. Since then Epidaurus has become the first health tourism destination.