THE EFFECT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON HEALTH TOURISM

Öz

Health tourism is defined as people traveling from their place of residence to another place for health reasons. Through this tourism, people receive physical care, diet, healthy nutrition, relaxation and mental training in a hotel with professional service to maintain and improve their health levels. Health tourism has become more popular in recent years and has begun to be expressed as an important tool in meeting people's expectations. The Coronavirus (Covid-19) disease, which started in Wuhan, China and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization on March 11, 2020, has caused global effects and economic crises. Health tourism has also been affected by the pandemic process. Travel restrictions and travel bans implemented to reduce the risk of spreading the infection have had worldwide impacts on the travel, accommodation and tourism industry. This situation exacerbates international tourism and the worldwide economic crisis. In this review, it is aimed to determine the possible effects of Covid-19, which is a current pandemic, on health tourism, and to make some suggestions to country administrators, sector representatives and managers.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Covid-19
• Health Tourism
• Medical Tourism
• Pandemic
• Tourism

COVİD-19 PANDEMİSİNİN SAĞLIK TURİZMİ ÜZERİNDEKİ ETKİSİ

Öz

Sağlık turizmi kişilerin sağlık nedenleriyle ikamet ettikleri yerden başka bir yere seyahat etmesi olarak tanımlanmaktadır. Bu turizm sayesinde, insanlar sağlık düzeylerini korumak ve yükseltmek için profesyonel hizmet sunumu olan bir otelde fiziksel bakım, diyet, sağlıklı beslenme, gevşeme ve zihinsel eğitim almaktadır. Sağlık turizmi son yıllarda daha popüler hale gelmiş ve insanların beklentilerini karşılamada önemli bir araç olarak ifade edilmeye başlamıştır. Çin'in Wuhan kentinde başlayan ve 11 Mart 2020’de Dünya Sağlık Örgütü tarafından bir pandemi olarak ilan edilen Coronavirüs (Covid-19) hastalığı, küresel etkilere ve ekonomik krizlere neden olmuştur. Sağlık turizmi de pandemi sürecinden etkilenmiştir. Enfeksiyonun yayılma riskini azaltmak için uygulanan seyahat kısıtlamaları ve seyahat yasakları seyahat, konaklama ve turizm sektöründe dünya çapında etkilere olmuştur. Bu durum uluslararası turizmi ve dünya çapında yaşanan ekonomik krizi şiddetlendirmektedir. Bu derlemede güncel bir pandemi olan Covid-19’un sağlık turizmi üzerindeki olası etkilerinin neler olacağının belirlenmesi, ülke idarecileri, sektör temsilcileri ve yöneticilerine birtakım önerilerde bulunulması amaçlanmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Covid-19
• Sağlık Turizmi
• Medikal Turizm
• Pandemi
• Turizm

Kaynakça

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