The Intersection Between Celebrity Influence And Health Tourism

When talking about health tourism, celebrities like Steve McQueen and Farrah Fawcett come to mind as the first to popularize the trend. However, other celebrities have openly admitted to exploring the sector in recent years.

It was reported that Hollywood actor Armand Assante underwent surgery at a clinic in Croatia in 2018. Speaking about the surgery, Assange was quoted as saying; “I had four days off and decided to come to Croatia thanks to the great expert Nikica Gabrić to solve my vision problems. I literally came from the plane to the clinic and in less than two hours I was examined and operated on. Now I have great vision, better than at any time in the last ten years.”

The medical tourism industry continues to grow exponentially due to the millions of dollars pouring into the industry due to the celebrity appeal of medical tourism. Many American celebrities choose out-of-state procedures for a variety of reasons, including privacy, and the need to undergo procedures that have yet to be approved in the United States. From Brazil to Croatia and Turkey, US celebrities are constantly patronizing foreign medical facilities, and this celebrity attraction is popularizing the concept among everyday Americans, which now reflects badly on the health care system. America’s health. For most people who choose medical tourism, they often cite lower costs, high standards of care, and professionalism as a huge reason for their decisions.

Famous Attraction Influence

Health tourism uses celebrity attraction as a means of advertising health tourism sites, as well as endorsing people to try health tourism. The direct influence of celebrity marketing on the growing rate of health tourism cannot be denied, but this influence is also largely an accidental benefit.

Much credit must be given to the US media who always find a way to find private procedures, as A-list celebrities rarely admit to seeking medical ops outside the US. Lifestyle and celebrity news have always played a large role in shaping American culture and spending decisions, so the impact on health tourism is not surprising, but whether it is needed is a whole other conversation.

Health tourism expert and CEO of MAYCLINIK, a medical facility located in Istanbul, Hakan Yilmaz, responded to this sentence; “Hype and news media may sway people to try medical tourism, but it’s often the excellent delivery and professionalism that keeps people coming back,” he explains. something different and something that feels part of a holiday so we provide that.”

“We transport our patients from the airport to our facility in luxurious vehicles, accompany them throughout the entire process, and provide our patients with free post-procedure care and consultation support, and so both have done a lot of work to maintain this. patronage level,” he said.

In the United States, a hair transplant can cost well over $12,000 with a starting range of $4,000 for low-quality clinics. However, a similar procedure in Turkey costs an average of $2,500 at an average of $0.55 to $1 per graft. This shows the importance of cost for people who choose health tourism, including celebrities and their fans.

The cost varies from facility to facility depending on the quality of their service and location, but it is always attractive to consider the quality of care and the opportunity to explore new places and have a vacation-style medical trip and the cost appears more than. reasonable. Medical travel is not usually about fun, but with medical tourism these two concepts intersect for the first time and this is definitely a huge incentive for foreigners who visit such places.

Commenting on the benefits of medical tourism as a holiday experience, Yilmaz shows the effort his team makes to create a memorable health tourism experience for their clients; “Our clinic is very intentional about the experience we give our clients in terms of comfort. Everything about our practice is made with this in mind. For example, our practice is central to many of the most popular holiday spots visit them, so that patients can enjoy. many fun activities, and see the most beautiful sites and sights in Turkey before or after their procedure. These benefits are usually to speed up the healing process and the situation doesn’t seem as good.”

With the increase in demand for the sector the question of sustainability is also becoming more prominent as carbon emissions from travel have increased with the popularity of medical tourism. Speaking on ITB
ITB
Berlin starting this week with its established medical tourism pavilion, said Rika Jean-Francois, Commissioner for Corporate Social Responsibility at ITB Berlin and head of the segment: “Especially after the Covid pandemic, medical tourism has played an important role in the rehabilitation of health and the country. well-being in society.”

“This segment is growing every year and keeping up to date with the latest results and technologies,” she said. “We need to rethink before restarting and we need to cooperate on a global level. As with all other segments of tourism, medical tourism needs to be more sustainable.”

What Happens After Surgery?

Despite its challenges, the United States remains a top-ranked healthcare location with sophisticated technologies, practices and procedures. However, the world’s most expensive healthcare system has yet to leverage its position as a leading healthcare service to boost the growth of its medical tourism industry. Instead, the US contributes to the growth of other medical tourism sites such as Turkey, and Brazil, rather than positioning itself as a service provider for these aesthetic procedures in the ways used by other sites.

A routine aesthetic experience for patients in the US seems to be treated like any other medical procedure for the most part. Patients rarely seek special treatment, privacy or any post-surgical therapy. This extra attentive care for patients contributes to the basic ethics of health tourism, which has helped the industry grow.

A 2018 report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC
PWC
) on medical tourism indicated that the average spend per visit on medical tourism was $3,000 – $10,000 per tourist. The majority of tourists came from Indonesia, with 600,000 people for the year, the USA was second with 500,000 going abroad.

A report by Glasgow Research & Consulting has predicted that the medical tourism market will be worth $180 billion by 2025.

Lack of health insurance is the most common factor in medical travel, but the PWC report identified patient need for accessibility, experience-oriented offerings and a growing desire for quality care as significant.

“The combination of a positive experience and a happy patient ensures practice sustainability. We strive to meet all of our patients’ needs and be with them throughout the healing and development process by providing quick responses after treatment is completed. This creates so much confidence in our services and our patients are loyal clients. This post-procedure care is probably also responsible for our ever-growing client list.” Upain Yilmaz.

With branches in Turkey and Germany, the healthcare provider is accredited by ISO, the Ministry of Health, and TURSAB, among others. The healthcare company has been featured in CNN Turk, where the founder and CEO, Yilmaz, has spoken extensively about the current state of health tourism in Turkey.

While the health tourism industry in other locations continues to grow, the US market ranks below the top 10 health tourism destinations in the world according to recent data. This is indicative of the current state of the industry in the US, and the potential need for a different approach to health practices in the country. However, the aesthetics sector is one area that has seen a recent boom due to the influence of influencers and celebrities alike on the nation.