Traveling for health and wellness is one of the most important tourist patterns of economic returns generated by the tourism industry, tourist destinations, and the health sector. The paper studies the potential of health tourism development in Nepal. Health tourism in Nepal especially based on natural healing resources that are mostly combined with the medical, preventive and wellness programs. They are not being used well enough, even though they are the key factor in positioning Nepal as a recognizable health tourism destination, which can generate economic growth and income. On the other hand, the trends in the world tourism predict further growth of health tourism, mostly due to the changes in people’s lifestyle. Although health tourism, a burgeoning and lucrative tourism market, has gained, increased attention in recent years, particularly in developing countries, only a few academic studies of the sector have been published. Given the scarcity of academic literature in this area, the aim of the present study is to offer a comprehensive theoretical framework for future research. Yoga, Ayurveda, meditation, and natural healing-based tourism are a new form of niche tourism, which has been rapidly growing in recent years. Keywords: Health Tourism, Wellness, Tourism Development, Potential, Nepal
- 1.Bajracharya, DM, Joshi, RM, Rajbhandari, KR, Shakya, PR and Shrestha JB, (1988). Endemism in Nepalese Flora. In: Proceedings of National Conference on Science and Technology. Royal Nepal Academy of Science and Technology, Kathmandu, Nepal.
- 2.Barca, M., Akde ve, E., Gedik - Balay, (2013). Türkiye sağlık Turizm Sektörünün Analizi ve Strateji Önerileri. İşletme Araştırmaları Dergisi, 5(3), 64 - 92.
- 3.Boruchovitch, E., & Mednick, B. R. (2002). The Meaning of Health and Illness: Some Considerations for Health Psychology . Psico - USF, 7 (2), 175 - 183.
- 4.Botterill D., Pennings G., Mainil T., (2013), Medical tourism, and transnational health care, London: Palgrave Macmillan.
- 5.Bookman M.Z., Bookman K.R., (2007), Medical tourism in developing countries, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- 6.Chaudhary, R.P., (1998). Biodiversity in Nepal (Status and Conservation). Tec Press Books, Thailand, Bangkok.
- 7.Connell, J. (2006). Medical Tourism: Se a, Sun, Sand and Surgery. Tourism Management , 27, 1093 - 1100.
- 8.Connell, J (2011). Medical Tourism. Oxford shire, UK: CABI Publishers .
- 9.Connell, J. (2013). Contemporary medical tourism: Conceptualization, culture and commodification. Tourism Management, 34, 1 - 13 .
- 10.Crooks VA, Turner L, Snyder J, Johnston R, Kingsbury P, (2011). Promoting medical tourism to India: Messages, images, and the marketing of international patient travel. Soc Sci Med, 72:726 – 732.
- 11.Deloitte (2009), Medical Tourism Update and Implications, Deloitte, New York, NY. Dixit H. Nepal’s Quest for Health. 31. rd Ed. 2005. Educational Publishing House .Nepal.
- 12.Douglas, N. (2001). Traveling for Health: Spa and Health Resorts. In N. Douglas, N. Douglas & R.Derrett (Eds.) , Special Interest Tourism: Contex t and Cases (pp. 260 - 282). Milton, Qld.: John Wiley & Sons.
- 13.Eissler,L.A.andCasken,J.(2013) “ Seekinghealthcarethroughinternationalmedicaltourism” , Journal of Nursing Scholarship, Vol. 45 No. 2, pp. 177 - 184. 27
- 14.Goodrich, J. N., & Goodrich, G. E. (1991). Health - Care Tourism . In S. Medlik (Ed.), Managing Tourism (pp. 107 - 114). Oxford: Butterworth - Heinemann.
- 15.Hall, M. (2003). Spa and Health Tourism. In S. Hudson (Ed.), Sport and Adventure Tourism (pp. 273 - 287). New Y ork: Haworth Hospitality Press.
- 16.Hancock D., (2006), the Complete Medical Tourist, London: John Blake.
- 17.Henderson, J. C. (2003). Healthcare Tourism in Southeast Asia. Tourism Review International, 7 (3 - 4), 111 - 121. Hopkins L, Labonte R, Runnels V, Packer C: Medical tourism today: What is the state of existing knowledge? J Public Health Policy 2010, 31:185 – 198.
- 18.Inside Story. (2007). Understanding Wellbeing Tourism: Market Research Findings . Sydney: Tourism Australia.
- 19.IUCN. 2000. National Register of Medicinal Plants. IUCN Nepal , https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2000 - 058.pdf [Accessed 5 Dec. 2018].
- 20.J ohnston R, Crooks VA, Snyder J, Kingsbury P, (2010): What is known about the effects of medical tourism in destination and departure countries? A scoping review. Int J Equity Health , 9:24.
- 21.Juszczak J., (2012), Internationale Patienten in deutschen Kliniken , Sankt Augustin: Daten und Fakten .
- 22.Koirala, Rishi Ram, and Bhupendra Nirajan Khaniya, (2008). Review of Present status of Traditional Medicines and Medicinal & Aromatic Plants Related Resources & Organizations. Report submitted to Nepal Health Research Co uncil. Koncul, N. (no date) ‘WELLNESS : A NEW MODE OF TOURISM ’ , Economic Research - Ekonomska istraživanja, Vol. 25 (2012) No. 2 pp. 525 – 535.
- 23.Laing, J., and Weiler, B. (2008). Mind, Body, and Spirit: Health and Wellness Tourism in Asia. In J. Cochrane (ed.), Asian Tourism: Growth and Change (pp. 379 - 389). Oxford: Elsevier.
- 24.Leahy A.L., (2008), Medical tourism: the impact of travel to foreign coun tries for healthcare, Surgeon, 5, 260 - 261.
- 25.Liberska B., (2012), Globalizacja i offshoring usług medycznych, Zdrowie Publiczne i Za - rz ą dzanie, 10(3), 5 - 11.
- 26.MacReady N., (2007), Developing Countries Court Medical Tourists, The Lancet, 369, 1849 - 1850.
- 27.Myers, N., (1988). Threatened biotas: "hot spots" in tropical forests. Environmentalist 8(3): 187 - 208.
- 28.Myers, N. (1990). The biodiversity challenge: expanded hotspot analysis. Environmentalist 10 (4): 243 - 256.
- 29.Nahrs tedt, W. (2004). Wellness: A New Perspective for Leisure Centers, Health Tourism, and Spas in Europe on the Global Health Market. In K. Weiermair & C. Mathies (Eds.), The Tourism and Leisure Industry: Shaping the Future (pp. 181 - 198). New York: Haworth Hos pitality Press.
- 30.Pocock NS, Phua K, (2011),: Medical tourism and policy implications for health systems: A conceptual framework from a comparative study of Thailand Singapore and Malaysia. Global Health, 7:12.
- 31.Puczkó, L., & Bacharov, M. (2006). Spa, Bath, T hermae: What's Behind the Labels. Tourism Recreation Research, 31 (1), 83 - 91.
- 32.Shankar, P., Paudel, R. and Giri, B. (2006) ‘Healing traditions in Nepal’, JAAIM - Online , (January 2006), pp. 1 – 17.
- 33.Shank, J., & Coy le, C. (2002). Therapeutic Recreation in Health Promotion and Rehabilitation . State College, PA: Venture Publishing.
- 34.Smith, M. (2003). Holistic Holidays: Tourism and the Reconciliation of Body, Mind, and Spirit. Tourism Recreation Research, 28 (1), 103 - 108. 28 Smith, M. & Kelly, C. (2006a). Holistic tourism: Journeys of the self? Tourism Recreation Research, 31 (1), 15 - 24. Sm ith, M., & Kelly, C. (2006b). Wellness Tourism. Tourism Recreation Research, 31 (1), 1 - 4.
- 35.Steiner, C. J., & Reisinger, Y. (2006). Ringing the Fourfold: A Philosophical Framework for Thinking about Wellness Tourism. Tourism Recreation Research, 31 (1), 5 - 14.
- 36.Subedi, B.P., (2000). Policy and Regulatory Environment for the Conservation and Utilization of Himalayan Medicinal Resources in Nepal. A paper presented in the workshop on “Nepal Japan Joint Symposium on Conservation and Utilization of the Himalayan Medic inal Resources” organized by Department of Plant Resources (HMG, Nepal) and Society for Conservation and Development of Himalayan Medicinal Resources, Japan, 8 - 10 November 2000, Kathmandu, Nepal, p. 13.
- 37.Subedi, B.P., (2004) Linking plant - based enterprises and local communities in biodiversity conservation in Nepal Himalaya. Ph. D. Thesis . Kumaun University , Nainital, India.
- 38.Subedi BP (2010), Conservation and use of medicinal and aromatic plants in Nepal : status and prospect. http://www.ansab.org/wpcontent/uploads/2010/07/conservation_of_MAPs1. pdf , [Accessed 5 Dec. 2018].
- 39.Turner L, (2007) ‘First world health care at third world prices’: Globalization, bioethics, and medical tourism. Biosocieties , 2(3):303 – 325.
- 40.WHO Traditional Medicine Strategy 2000 - 2005, (2002) World Health Organization Publication , Geneva, Switzerland.
- 41.W orld Health Organization, (2011), The World medicines situation, traditional medicines: global situation, issues, and challenges, World Health Organization Publications; Geneva: Switzerland. Contributors : Khanal Bishnu Prasad : MBA (Aoyama Gakuin University), Ph.D. Candidate, Tokyo Metropolitan University ; Professor Tetsuo Shimizu , Tokyo Metropolitan University Corresponding Author : Khanal Bishnu Prasad . Email: khanal_bishnu2016@yahoo.com 29