Abstract

Medical tourism has received increased attention in the past twenty years,

particularly cosmetic tourism. Studies examining the motivations of

cosmetic and medical travellers showed that these travellers are

motivated to travel by the cheaper cost, easy access of surgery, sense of

privacy, quality of care and a relaxing holiday experience. Since the

cosmetic tourism industry is growing, it is important to understand

whether cosmetic travellers are being informed of the possible negative

impacts of cosmetic tourism. This study’s main aim is to understand the

primary motivations for a cosmetic traveller whilst determining whether

the Internet advertisements publish the potential risks of surgery abroad.

Therefore the researcher interviewed seven female cosmetic tourists aged

20-36 to determine their main motivations. The results from the

structured interview showed the primary motivation is ‘cost’ and the

secondary motivations are having a ‘holiday’ experience as well as the

‘quality’ of care.

The researcher also analysed thirteen cosmetic tourism websites, nine

medical tourism website and three medical E-brochures using content

analysis, this allowed the research to understand if the internet advertises

the possible risks of having surgery abroad. The results from the websites

and E-brochures showed the Internet is not providing cosmetic travellers

with enough information on the possible negative impacts of cosmetic

tourism but are informing travellers on the positive impacts. Therefore the

researcher concludes that the cosmetic tourism industry requires

monitoring, as cosmetic tourists rely on the Internet for medical

information and as no surgery is risk free, tourists need to be aware of the

possible risks and complications.

Key Words: Cosmetic tourism, Medical tourism, Motivations, Websites,

E-brochures, Positive impacts, Negative impacts and risks.