Travel and experiences have been very important since ancient times. From traveling for business, traveling for learning, traveling for fun, traveling for pilgrimage and traveling for treatment. It can be said that the history of travel for treatment goes back to the age of medical science itself, and in fact, the history of medical and health tourism goes back to ancient times. The ancient Greeks were the first to lay the foundations of medical tourism. The Greeks built temples in honor of their god of medicine, Asclepius, to which people from all over the world traveled to cure their ailments. 300 BC, another healing temples were built in Greece, which, in addition to therapeutic spas, also had gymnasiums, fields, and thermal baths.
In Rome, there were several baths and hot springs called thermae, which in addition to health facilities; They became business centers for the rich and elite. History of medical tourism – Middle Ages After the fall of Roman civilization, Asia was still the main destination for medical tourism, and temples gave way to hospitals. In 1248, Mansouri Hospital in Cairo, Egypt became one of the largest and most advanced hospitals in the world at that time and became a medical destination for tourism in the whole world.
For the first time, the word “Spa”, which comes from the Roman term “salude per aqua” or health through water, was used for these hot springs. During the 16th and 17th centuries, with the discovery of more of these springs, the use of hot water baths for therapeutic purposes became very common in Europe, and many tourists traveled to these areas for treatment.Medical tourism in these cities made these areas prosper and beautiful hotels and restaurants were built. . From the 1900s to 1997, America and Europe were not only commercial and industrial centers, but also health and treatment centers. During the 1960s, India became a tourist destination and eventually a medical tourism industry was discovered, complete with yoga and Ayurvedic medicine.In the 1980s and 1990s, with medical costs rising in America, patients began to travel to South America, Cuba offered attractive packages for eye surgeries, heart surgeries, and cosmetic procedures. The Asian economic crisis in 1997 made these countries go towards health tourism. Thailand quickly became known as the hub of low-cost plastic surgery. Thailand, Singapore and India became forensic destinations due to JCI accreditation.
Other countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America were promoted as tourist destinations due to the Joint Commission International’s accreditation. In the past few years, healthcare and insurance companies have considered medical outsourcing. These allow their members to use non-emergency procedures and surgeries in other countries. Many also consider foreign medical procedures as part of the health plan coverage.
