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Good Health and Well-Being pp 1–15Cite as

Sustainable Medical Tourism: Conceptual Framework

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Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

Definition

Referring to the definition of sustainable tourism and taking into consideration the specifics of medical tourism, it can be assumed that sustainable medical tourism is a conscious and sustainable human activity, in which a medical tourist/mobile patient aims to obtain broadly understood healthcare outside their permanent place of residence (at home or abroad), consisting mainly in maintaining (obtaining better) health, and/or aesthetic appearance of one’s own body, often combined with rest and consumption of tourist packages. This balance should address all three aspects – social, economic, and environmental. Therefore, the provision of sustainable medical tourism services, most often by commercial healthcare entities, should be carried out with rational spatial distribution resulting in the strengthening of local economies and improving the quality of life of the society while respecting natural resources and using innovative solutions in the medical tourism business.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Consumer Behaviour Research, Collegium of Management and Finance, Warsaw School of Economics, Warsaw, Poland

    Adrian Lubowiecki-Vikuk

  2. The Angelus Silesius University of Applied Sciences in Wałbrzych, Wałbrzych, Poland

    Aleksandra Machnik

Authors
  1. Adrian Lubowiecki-Vikuk
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  2. Aleksandra Machnik
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Adrian Lubowiecki-Vikuk .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. European School of Sustainability, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. International Centre for Thriving, University of Chester, Chester, UK

    Tony Wall

  3. Center for Neuroscience & Cell Biology, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

  4. Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo University Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Luciana Brandli

  5. Istinye University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Pinar Gökcin Özuyar

Section Editor information

  1. No affiliation provided

    Masoud Mozafari

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Lubowiecki-Vikuk, A., Machnik, A. (2020). Sustainable Medical Tourism: Conceptual Framework. In: Leal Filho, W., Wall, T., Azul, A., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P. (eds) Good Health and Well-Being. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69627-0_112-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69627-0_112-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-69627-0

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