Tourists

The origin of the word “tourist” date back to 1292 AD. It has come from the word ?€?tour?€™. A number of experts have defined the term:
“Tourists are the voluntary temporary travelers, traveling in the expectations of pleasure from the novelty and change experienced on a relatively and non-current round-trip”.
“Tourist is a person who makes a journey for the sake of curiosity for the fun of traveling”.

Tourists are:

-Persons traveling for pleasure, health and domestic reason.
-Persons arriving in the sea of sea cruise.
-Persons traveling for convention.

Tourism ?€“ the first commercial venture.

A religious Englishman called Thomas Cook in 1841 arranged, for a fee, a one ?€“day rail excursion from Leicester to Loughborough for 540 members of a temperance league. Thus the first bona fide travel agent was Thomas Cook.

While Cook himself did not make a profit on this first venture, he was a man of vision and was convinced that there was a need for a skilled “travel arranger”. So by 1845 he had become the first full-time travel agent, operating train excursions from Leicester. The next year he chartered a train and steamer for an excursion to Scotland for 330 people. In 1851 Cook arranged ocean steamship travel and accommodations for more than 1,50,000 visitors to the World Exposition in London and in 1856 he operated the first escorted “grand tour” of Europe. Tours to Europe and Middle East were also conducted and, in 1872, the first around the world tour was conducted.

Tourism as a Service Industry

Tourism as a service industry comprises of several allied activities which together produce the tourism product. Involved in the tourism product are three major sub-industries. They are: -
1. Tour operators and travel agents.
2. Accommodation sector (hoteling and catering) and
3. Passenger accommodation.

According to international estimates, a tourist spends 35% of his total expenditure on transportation, about 40% on lodging and food and the balance 25% on entertainment, shopping and incidentals.
The product in this case is not confirmed to travel and accommodation but includes a large array of auxiliary services ranging from insurance and entertainment and shopping, demand generation, in addition to the consumer motivation, is also heavily dependent upon powerful persuasive communication both at the macro (country) level and the micro (enterprise) level. The participants in the process of this service business can be illustrated by the figure below.

Some of the pointers to nature of tourism as a Service Industry

1. Tourism accounts for nearly 6% of world trade.
2. Bulk of tourism business is located in Europe and North America., with 1/8 of the market being shared between the other regions.
3. The highest growth rate in tourism in recent years has been in the third world.
4. Tourism, like most pure services, because of the character of inseparability, exemplifies a product, which cannot be sampled before purchase; the prospective consumers have to travel to a foreign destination in order to consume the product.
5. The major players in the tourism market include a number of intermediary companies. Some of them transnational in character, some of them exhibit
vertical integration, both backward and forward, acquiring interests in all major sectors of this service industry.

The Tourism Product- Factors Governing Demand.

Because of the unique nature of the nature of tourism product- it being an amalgam of the characteristics of a destination and the infrastructural as well as managerial efforts of the promoter, the determinants of tourists demand emanate from both individual tourist motivations and the economic, social, technological factors. Some of these are:

?€? Income Levels

In the last 30 years, disposable incomes around the world have shown upward trends, thus allowing more money for activities like leisure travel. Smaller families have meant higher allocations per person in the family. More and more women are entering the workforce and in real terms the cost of travel has fallen. The dramatic rise of tourism in the last 50 years can be attributed in a large measure to the combined effect of more leisure time and rise in both real and disposable incomes.

?€? More Leisure time:

Increasing unionization of labour right from 1930 onwards has reduced the number of working hours per week. Changing managerial orientations towards human resources have increased the levels of pay and paid vacation time in most developed countries. Now people have longer periods of leisure, which could be allocated to travel.

?€? Mobility

Better transportation and communication services have made the world a smaller place, and have brought both exposure and awareness of distant lands to larger sections of potential tourists across the world. Faster modes of transport have cut down on travel time, making it easier for people to economically plan and execute trips abroad.

?€? Growth in Government Security Programmes and Employment Benefits:

The growth in government security programmes and well entrenched policies of employee benefits mean that quite a large number of families may have long term financial security and may be more willing to spend money for vacations.

Tourist Classification:-

Tourists can be classified into the following seven demand categories:-
1. Explorer: – Very limited in number, these tourists are looking for discovery and involvement with local people.
2. Elite: – People who favour special, individually trips to exotic places.
3. Offbeat: – These are filled with a desire to get away from the usual humdrum life.
4. Unusual: – Visitors who are looking forward to trips with peculiar objectives such as physical danger or isolation.
5. Incipient mass: – A steady flow, traveling alone or in small-organized groups using some shared services.
6. Mass: – The general packaged tour market, leading to tourist enclaves abroad.
7. Charter: – Mass travel to relaxation destinations, which incorporate as many as standardized, developed world facilities as possible.

The Travel Decision:-

The average tourist is faced with considerable uncertainty regarding the decision and may have only scanty ideas about distant destinations. His evaluation of alternatives is also limited to the extent of this awareness about possible destinations. The stages of travel decision can be described as: -

1. Travel Desire:-
The first step where the need to travel is felt and the pros and cons are thought about.
2. Information Collection and Evaluation:-
This stage involves the process of finding out the trip from travel agents, books and acquaintances .information so collected is evaluated against criteria of cost and time constraints, alternative possibilities, relative attractiveness of destinations, perceived ?€?safety?€™ o the alternative destinations etc.
3. Travel Decision:-
This is the decision phase involving selection of destination, travel, mode of accommodation and activities to be undertaken.
4. Travel Preparation and Experience:-
This involves tickets, bookings, travel, money and documents arrangement, clothing and undertaking of the travel.
5. Travel Satisfaction Evaluation:-
The whole tourism expenditure is constantly evaluated before, during and after the experience is used to influence future decisions.

The marketing concept for the travel and tourism industry is profit driven and customer centric (unlike sales which are volume driven and target centric).

Service Marketing Triangle

Service marketing is unique in many ways in the travel and tourism industry. There are 3 players in the transaction process:-

- Company: A travel and tourism company listens to the customers and evolves/develops the travel/tour package and it communicates the attractiveness and the utility of that very tour package directly to the customers. Here it (the company) performs external marketing. The company makes promises to the customers.

- Providers: They are a travel company?€™s internal customers constituting employees and agents. The company does internal marketing with the providers educating and motivating them about the idea of the particular tour package which they can offer to their customers. This is done to enable the providers to effectively carry out the service transaction process. The providers make provisions for office space, accessibility and connectivity. The company enables promises to be kept by this infrastructural association.

- Customers (Travelers): The customers are the reasons that the travel company exists and for whom the company has designed the traveling and touring package as well as set up the infrastructural facilities and spent money on employee development programmes. Here the providers are the only ones who interact with the customers, like the travel agents interact with the customers and not the company. The agents perform interactive marketing which is on-time, all-time, every-time. This is the most crucial aspect of service marketing in the travel and tourism sector. Those agents have the responsibility of ?€?keeping promises?€™ made and enabled by the company. The providers (agents) are responsible for the perceived quality level of the service transaction. This underlines the uniqueness of service marketing.

Tourism Products:

1. Accommodation
?€? Hotels
?€? Motels
?€? Boatels
?€? Flotels

2. Destination

?€? Natural Scenes
?€? Historic Excellence
?€? Artificial Beauties
?€? Social Cultural Excellence

3. Transportation

?€? Infrastructural
i. Airways
ii. Railways
iii. Roadways
iv. Waterways

?€? Local

i. Local transport

4. Tour operators

?€? Travel companies
?€? Travel agents
?€? Guides

5. Shopping

?€? Handicrafts
?€? Handloom
?€? Books

Marketing mix for tourism product:

The designing of the marketing mix variables in case of tourism is significant as it helps the marketer in conceiving the right ideas, particularly to raise the acceptability of the tourist product by stimulating and penetrating the demand. Framing of a proper marketing mix is significant because it helps the tourist organization in accomplishing the objective and projecting a fair image.

Product Mix:

Tourism is a composite product with components like attraction facilities and transportation. Attraction deserves an intensive care. It includes natural site, places of historic interest, events and cultural attraction.

The facilities compliment attraction. The facilities include accommodation, food, transportation and recreational facilities. The transportation component includes the vehicles and infrastructure. Innovation in the tourism product helps raising the sensitivity. The users of the service are looking forward to better and improved product.

The provider of the tourist is a travel agent or the package tour. A well conceived and designed package tour, covering a wide range of tourist attraction at an economic price, helps in attracting the potential tourist.

The travel agent performs numerous activities such as hotel arrangement and accommodation, site seeing arrangement, domestic transport arrangement, air travel arrangement etc.
In a true sense the tour agents and the travel agents are the vehicles who can give a fillip to the tourism industry, provided they are well trained.

Pricing:

Pricing of the tourist product is complex. Geographical location of the destination, seasonality and varying demand affects the pricing decision.
In India the pricing strategies become important for promoting or contracting the tourism industry, since more than 40% of the total population are below the poverty line. In order to develop the tourism industry more and more potential users are to be transformed into actual users.

When a tourist proposes to visit a particular place, the total cost of his traveling also include the expenses incurred on transportation, accommodation and communication.
Liberal pricing strategy is found to be a productive pricing decision, particularly in case of tourism industry. The pricing strategy which includes low income group people, student and retired persons can be more effective. This is possible if the government concessional and subsidized infrastructural facilities to the potential tourist below the average income.

The different pricing methods generally used are cost based pricing, demand based pricing and competition based pricing.

Promotions:

The promotion mix includes advertising, publicity, sales support and public relations.
The purpose of promotion is to make available the information to the user. Advertising the sales promotion can be effective when supplemented by publicity and personal selling.
Radio, TV, newspapers, cinema and printings are some of the important vehicles for traveling of messages. Effective slogans raises the effectiveness of advertisement.

Another important component of the promotion mix is public relation. It helps in projecting the image of an organization. Public relation and publicity include regular articles and photographs of tour attraction, use of TV and travel journalists to promote editorial comment.
Public relation officer plays an important role. He should be efficient, active, impressive, intelligent and well-behaved.

Good image projection can be made if the PRO manages the affair like a professional. It is said that word of mouth is the best form of publicity. The word of mouth promotion is an important tool in tourism marketing.

Place:

The tourist centers should be located at suitable points if the tourists spots are natural there is no question of selection. In a vast country like India with a divergent socioeconomic and cultural patterns, the promotion of domestic tourism encourages unity in diversity.
Infrastructural facilities, transport and communication are important for development of tourist centres. The site selected should have natural surroundings, increased accessibility and improved amenities. At the same time it is also important that the ecological balance is not disturbed. Since growing ecological imbalances leads to pollution, some important steps like promoting afforestation, promotion and beautification may be undertaken in countering the side effects of atmospheric pollution and maintaining ecological balance.

Continued here: travel and tourism industry

Introduction: The early history of tourism says people traveled from one place to another mainly because of food , shelter or just for curiosity. But in due course large scale mobility of people were caused by the natural elements of human pressure, entertainment or forced man to move to other location. Due to the absence of roads and other transport facilities, travel and tourism was a hard way to think of. This led to the emergence of  land routes , river or sea navigation.

 Now with dismantling of national boundaries, the tourism scenario is also changing. There is a steady growth in the number of tourist arrivals and more satisfactorily the average spending of foreign tourist has gone up.

Tourism Product:   In the earth today any thing can be promoted as the tourism product anywhere.. It is not location specific as the agriculture and manufacturing sector do. India in particular has a 5000-year ?€“old heritage and thousands of monuments and archeological sites for the tourists to enjoy. The country abounds in attractive and well preserves historical sites and ancient monuments of architectural grandeur. India offers enormous diversity in topography, natural resources and climate. There are land- rocked mountainous regions, lush valleys and plains, arid desert regions, white sandy beaches and islands. Central India has numerous wildlife sanctuaries with countless varieties of flora and fauna. The country has unparallel cultural diversity, languages, religions, customs and traditions.

  The major adventure tourism activities are trekking, and skiing in the Himalayas, river running in the Gangas, water sports in Goa, trout fishing in the Himachal Pradesh and many more. We have some of the best beaches of the world, many of which are still unexplored in Andaman and Lakshadweep islands.

Tourism Contribution: The impact of tourism in our country is multi dimensional. It is reflected on the economic, social, cultural, political and environmental issues and aspects of the country. In a more generic sense it develops understanding among the people, create jobs both directly and indirectly, augments foreign exchange reserves and helps in the overall economic wellbeing of the people.

Earnings from foreign tourist arrivals had grown strongly in the nineties and contributed to over Rs21,828 crores a year in the recent past.  According to the World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC) the industry provides direct employment to 262 million people who constitute 10.5% of the global workforce. These numbers are expected to grow to 383 million by the year 2007. Tourism also accounts for 8% of the world exports making it the largest internationally traded products or services.

Tourism in Global View:  Tourism is the largest industry in the world next to the oil industry. In terms of earnings it has left automobiles and information technology industry behind. Tourism is the largest employer.

Table-1

Growth of International Tourists from 1948 to 2004

Sl No

Year

No. of Tourists

(in million)

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1948

1964

1990

1996

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

14.0

144.0

458.5

591.9

687.3

684.1

702.6

694.0

760.0

Source: 1. WTO Statistics- Published in Tourism and Travel Management, p. 64.

             2. India : Tourism and heritage Challenge, Communiqué: a Journal of Confederation of Indian Institutes, November 2001,p.3

The table shows that the 760 million international tourist arrivals during 2004 is the biggest increase since 1984 which shows the best growth in the past 20 years. There is an increase of 69 million of tourists during 2004 compared to 2003 with an increase of 10% growth. This is mainly attributed to the countries like China and USSR those who recognized the importance of  tourism in their national economy. A study shows the leading advanced countries particularly the fourteen countries namely, USA, Germany, the UK, France, Canada, Austria, Belgium, Yugoslavia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Italy, Switzerland, Scandinavia and Spain accounted for 78 percent of the world visitor arrivals.

Market Position of Tourism in India: For centuries India has been the centre of attraction for different people for different reasons. Ancient invaders viewed it as a gold mine with unlimited wealth to plunder. Where as others attracted to it because of its mystic spiritualism, sheer beauty of its natural manifestations and amazing variety of flora and fauna. These inherent advantages could have made India as an ideal destination. But various constraints have hampered the growth of tourism in India at the expected levels.

Table-2

Foreign Tourist Arrivals in India

S.No

Year

Arrivals

Changes

1

1991

1677508

——

2

1992

1867651

10.1%

3

1993

1764830

-05.8%

4

1994

1886433

6.4%

5

1995

2123683

11.1%

6

1996

2287860

7.1%

7

1997

2374094

3.6%

8

1998

2358629

-6.5%

9

1999

2481928

4.9%

10

2000

2641157

6.4%

11

2001

2536978

-4.0%

12

2002

2384384

-6.0%

13

2003

2726214

14.3%

14

2004

3367980

23.5%

 Source: 1. Ministry of Tourism Annual report 1994-95

              2. Dept . of Tourism Annual report up to 1999.

              3. Economic Time  6.1.2002 Page 13

              4. Business Line, New Delhi-09.01.2005

The travel and tourism business in India constitutes a pathetic 0.40 percent of the trillion-dollar world tourism industry and it remains stagnant over the past two decades. The above table shows since the beginning of the nineties the growth rate in the foreign tourist arrivals in India has recorded a highly fluctuated and erratic trend. The trend is mainly attributed to the terrorists attacks in USA  and its subsequent apprehension on the security of the tourists. But surprisingly in 2004 , the foreign tourist arrivals crossed 3 million with an increase of 23.5% in India.

In contrast our neighboring countries are able to attract more foreign tourists. The Asian countries have increased their foreign tourist arrivals drastically in the last three years; Singapore 7 million, Thailand 11 million, Malaysia 14 million and above all China 36 million foreign tourists.

Contribution of Tourism to the Foreign Exchange Earnings:  Tourism industry in India is thriving due to increase of foreign tourists arrivals during 2003-2004. This has significantly added to the foreign exchange reserves of the state.

Table-3

Foreign exchange earnings through tourism  from 1998 to 2004 by India.

Sl No

Year

Amount (in US $)

Change over the previous year.

1

1998

2948

—-

2

1999

3009

2.1

3

2000

3168

5.3

4

2001

3042

4.0

5

2002

2923

3.9

6

2003

3533

20.8%

7

2004

4810

36.0%

 Source:  1) Incredible India Figure-2003

               2) Business Line New Delhi- 09.01.2005

 During 2003  and 2004 the foreign exchange earnings from tourism was recorded US$ 3533, ( Rs 16,429 crore) and US $ 4810 (Rs 21828 crores) respectively. It was 20.8% and 36.0% increase over the previous respective periods. The tourism department anticipates a further hike in foreign tourists arrivals in the successive years.

Reasons for the growth of tourism:  There are several reasons responsible for the growth of tourism in India. Among them the first one is our dramatic achievement in IT industry to make it as one of the major global IT hub. The second reason is attributed to the government effort. The nation wide publicity campaign ?€? The Incredible India?€?  strategy during 2002 to 2004 proved successful of attracting more tourists. The advertising campaigns on the prominent TV channels and in magazines is a further step towards it. The initiative of public-private-participation for the development of tourist infrastructure is another reason. The intense competition in the airline industry between private and government airline companies in the form of cutting air tariffs and expanding their network increase the flow of tourist to India. In addition to the above the task force set up by the government to promote India as a prominent health tourist destination also attracted approximately 1,50,000 patients during 2004.

Problems: In spite of its growth rate during 2004, Indian tourism market constitutes around 0.4% of its world market share. India is unable to attract the expected number of foreign tourists despite extensive marketing efforts. The term India has not been sending the correct signals to travel enthusiasts across the glove. The image of India is portrayed to the world community is that of mysticism, political instability, grinding poverty, illiteracy, terrorism, unemployment, communal discord, lack of social services and corruptions.  This image plays a very crucial role for de-motivating tourist to visit India and to visit the neighboring Asian countries.

Table-4

Government Expenditure on Tourism and Travel in 2001

Sl No

Name of the Country

Amount incurred in percent

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

India

Thailand

United Kingdom

Germany

China

USA

Sri Lanka

France

Malaysia

Honk Kong

Singapore

Spain

0.9

2.8

2.6

3.3

3.8

3.9

4.0

4.7

5.1

7.4

9.1

9.5

 Source: Economic Times, October 28,2001, p.7

The table shows the investment in travel and tourism, in terms of Indian government expenditure is 0.9 percent of the total budget allocation in 2001 and in subsequent years it is very low compared to other countries. Though India has much to offer in terms of tourist attractions, there are major constraints on the growth of tourism particularly in terms of lack of sufficient airports facilities, international and domestic air- seat capacity, surface transport facilities, accommodation, restaurants shopping and recreational facilities, trained labor force and other support services. The beggars, touts, and unhygienic waste in important tourist places are the other stumbling blocks for the free movement of the foreign tourists.

Table -5

Country wise Comparison of Rooms Available in Hotels in the Year 2002

Country

Rooms available in hotels

China

8,97,206

Thailand

3,20,565

Malaysia

1,30,757

India

85,481

Singapore

35,989

Source: World Tourism Organization

The country wise comparison shows that India has a sheer insufficiency of hotel rooms for the tourists.

Measures to be taken: After analyzing the above drawbacks we can say that India has the ability to capitalize  on its rich product composition to attract a higher proportion of the international tourists at least to 1% of the world market share. For this the above measures are suggested.

Significant improvement in transport network: Efforts have to be undertaken to improve the efficiency of Indian airline services along with the domestic air transport system. The airports , railway stations, bus stops and the roads have to be up graded to the global standard. Air connectivity has to be improved through public-private ?€“partnerships.
Liberalize the Visa restrictions:  Another major inhibitor of growth of tourism is the difficulty of obtaining visas for India. Government must liberalize visa restrictions to ensure a larger flow of tourists to the country which do not pose any political or security problems. Visas should be issued easily on entry at the airport in respect of visitors from such countries.
Engage local communities to develop their cultural heritage: It is seen in India that the ancient tourist?€™s destinations are in the way to destructions. This is mainly because of non- involvement of the local communities. The economic benefits of tourism must be shared by the local people who are mainly the preserver of it. Therefore a kind of consciousness should be developed among the masses to preserve the flora and fauna, the ancient monuments, scriptures and other archeological beauties.
Need for a strong marketing approach: Increased competition from the neighboring countries and a poor perception of the Indian tourism product need a strong marketing approach. The Incredible India campaign should be strengthened  mainly targeting to the competitors of the overseas countries. The promotional expenditure of Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia far exceeds the promotional expenditure of India. India needs a vigorous effort to improve its image as an attractive tourist destination of global standard.
Develop tailor-made packages:  Many of out tour packages do not respond to the tourists requirements. This is mainly because of erroneous development of the tour packages. Instead of a mass production and mass consumption approach , the tour operators must have flexible packages to provide life time value to the visitors looking into their profile.

Conclusion: India is no doubt a fascinating destination with an outstanding mix of ancient monuments, delightful jungles, virgin beaches, scenic beauties, colorful folk and classical dances and above all hospitable people. What it requires a more vibrant approach of welcoming tourists and sends them back as friends with enormous happy and living memories. The thorough implementation of the concept ?€? Atithi devo Bhovo?€? in each level of tourism will definitely achieve our target of global tourism market of India.

References:

Anand, M.M., Tourism and Hotel Industry in India, Prentice Hall of India, New Delhi.
Batra, G.S. Management of Tourism Corporation (A Case Study of Punjab), National Seminar on Tourism, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, 1994.
Tourist arrival in India- FHRAI- Newsletter, July-August 2005
Incredible India Figure- 2003
Business Line, New Delhi-09.01.2005
Economic Times, October 28, 2001, p.7

Read the rest here: Benchmarking Indian Tourism With the Global Standard- a Critical Analysis

TOURISM ?€“ A FIGHT AGAINST POVERTY

Creating Jobs and Wealth

Poverty alleviation has become an essential condition for peace, environmental conservation and sustainable development, besides being an ethical obligation in an affluent world, where the divide between poor and rich nations seems to have increased in recent years. There is a stronger evidence that tourism if developed and managed in a sustainable manner, can make a significant contribution to alleviate poverty, especially in rural areas, where most of the poor live and where there are very few other development options.

Travel & Tourism is the world?€™s largest industry and creator of jobs across national and regional economies. World Travel and Tourism Council research shows that in 2000, Travel & Tourism will generate, directly and indirectly, 11.7% of Gross Domestic Product and nearly 200 million jobs in the world-wide economy.  International tourism arrivals in 2002 exceeded 700 million, generating $US 474.2 billion in worldwide receipts.   These figures are forecasted to have an upward trend in 2010.

Jobs generated by Travel & Tourism are spread across the economy – in retail, construction, manufacturing and telecommunications, as well as directly in Travel & Tourism companies. These jobs employ a large proportion of women, minorities and young people; are predominantly in small and medium sized companies; and offer good training and transferability. Tourism can also be one of the most effective drivers for the development of regional economies. These patterns apply to both developed and emerging economies.

The Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, Francesco Frangialli, rightly observed that ?€?tourism is a major factor in the war on poverty. For most Developing Countries, LDC?€™s and Small Island Developing States it is their largest single export and major driver of jobs, investment and economic transformation. It is growing in these countries at significantly higher rates than in OECD states. Also in general these poor countries are most vulnerable to climate change and at the same time are the ones who create the least green house gas emissions. Tourism must be allowed to grow responsibly to these states and actions to curb emissions must take this into account?€?.

The geographical expansion and labour intensive nature of the Tourism sector provide ?a spread of employment which is particularly relevant in remote and rural areas where ?many of the poor live.

?UNWTO statistics show the growing strength of the tourism industry for developing ?countries:?

International tourism receipts for developing countries (low income, lower and ?upper middle income countries) will soon pass more than US$ 250 billion.?
Tourism is one of the major export sectors of poor countries and a leading ?source of foreign exchange in 46 of the 49 Least Developed Countries.?

Through its ST-EP programme (Sustainable Tourism ?€“ Eliminating Poverty), UNWTO ?has put in place a framework for poverty alleviation, linking its longstanding pursuit of ?sustainable tourism with the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and its own ?Global Code of Ethics.

Funding has been approved for 13 ST-EP projects so far, amounting to around US$1 ?million, benefiting 18 countries (Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Honduras, Kenya, Lao, ?Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique, Tanzania, Vietnam and Zambia, and a regional ?project in West Africa). In parallel, 25 ST-EP projects are being implemented by ?UNWTO with funding from the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV) for a total ?of around ?sbquo;? 1.2 million (Albania, Cambodia, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Montenegro, Nepal, ?Niger, Rwanda, SADC countries, Uganda). Italy, is funding 8 ST-EP projects ??(Colombia, Ghana, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Mali), and funding has been approved for ?additional projects during 2007.

 International tourist arrivals, 1990-2002

International tourist arrivals

(millions)

Share

(percentage)

in 2002

1990

1995

2000

2001

2002

WORLD

455.9

550.4

687.3

684.1

702.6

100

Africa

15.0

20.0

27.4

28.3

29.1

4.1

Americas

93.0

108.8

128.0

120.2

114.9

16.3

Asia and the Pacific

57.7

85.6

115.3

121.1

131.3

18.7

      North-East Asia

28.0

44.1

62.5

65.6

73.6

10.5

      South-East Asia

21.5

29.2

37.0

40.2

42.2

6.0

      Oceania

5.2

8.1

9.6

9.5

9.6

1.4

      South Asia

3.2

4.2

6.1

5.8

5.9

0.8

Europe

280.6

322.3

392.7

390.8

399.8

56.9

Middle East

9.7

13.6

24.0

23.6

27.6

3.9

Source:  World Tourism Organization.

Tourism in Asia and the Pacific region

During the period 1990-2002, growth in tourism in Asia and the Pacific outperformed the rest of the world, with arrivals growing by 7.1 per cent annually (compared with 3.7 per cent for the world), increasing the global share from 12.7 per cent in 1990 to 18.7 per cent in 2002. Over the same period, tourism revenue in the region more than doubled, from $US 40.8 billion in 1990 to $US 94.7 billion in 2002.   Travel and tourism in the region has created 115 million jobs and made a significant contribution to GDP (North-East Asia, 9 per cent of GDP; South-East Asia, 7.56 per cent; South Asia, 4.87 per cent; Oceania, 13.55 per cent).

Given the broad income and employment figures as well as the impacts outlined above, tourism has considerable potential to contribute to poverty reduction in countries of the region.  However, in most countries, tourism initiatives are still only at the pilot stage and the measurement of their impact on the poor is inconsistent.  It is also well recognized that there can be leakages of foreign exchange from the tourism sectors and that the distribution of the benefits of tourism varies according t according to the market segment on which the country is focusing.  Consequently, two of the challenges in the sector are to design tourism interventions that maximize net foreign exchange gains and focus on the potential of improving the living standards of the poor.

With the increased interest in using tourism as a tool for poverty alleviation, there is clearly a need to develop methodologies and indicators that will enable Governments and other stakeholders to understand the impact of various initiatives on the poor and shape future interventions more effectively.  In this connection, preparations are under way to organize a meeting on measuring and assessing the impact of pro-poor tourism initiatives and policies at Bangkok in September 2004.  The meeting will bring together a group of practitioners working in poverty and tourism to consider methodologies to measure and assess the impact of pro-poor tourism initiatives.

The rising arrival figures do not necessarily mean that the poorer members of a society will also benefit. Nor are increasing numbers of tourists always welcome at a destination.  It is therefore vital that destination managers find ways how the poor can obtain ?€?not crumbs off the table but a share of the cake?€?.  In this context, Dr. SantaMaria introduced seven approaches for achieving benefits for the poor from tourism development:

?€? direct employment;

?€? supply of goods and services to enterprises;

?€? direct sales of goods and services to visitors;

?€? running of enterprises (SMEs, community-based);

?€? tax or levy on tourism income;

?€? voluntary giving / support by enterprises or tourists; and

?€? investment in infrastructure.

A study was conducted in order to discover how some of these approaches can be supported. To increase the number of poor people who are directly employed in the tourism industry, for example, three main activities can be suggested: the use of international partnerships and teaching support to ?€?catch up?€? on education and training, the setting up of tourism developments even in isolated rural areas, as well as the support through microfinance initiatives.

The following principles have been adopted by UNWTO and recommended to the governments in connection with Tourism and Poverty Alleviation:

1. Mainstreaming: ensure that sustainable tourism development is included in general poverty elimination programmes. Include poverty elimination measures within overall strategies for the sustainable development of tourism;

2. Partnerships: develop partnerships between international, government, nongovernmental and private sector bodies, with a common aim of poverty alleviation through tourism;

3. Integration: adopt an integrated approach with other sectors and avoid overdependence

on tourism;

4. Equitable distribution: ensure that tourism development strategies focus on more equitable distribution of wealth and services – growth alone is not enough;

5. Acting locally: focus action at a local/destination level, within the context of supportive national policies;

6. Retention: reduce leakages from the local economy and build linkages within it, focusing on the supply chain;

7. Viability: maintain sound financial discipline and assess viability of all actions taken;

8. Empowerment: create conditions which empower and enable the poor to have access to information and to influence and take decisions;

9. Human rights: remove all forms of discrimination against people working or seeking to work in tourism and eliminate any exploitation, particularly against women and children;

10. Commitment: plan action and the application of resources for the long term; and

11. Monitoring: develop simple indicators and systems to measure the impact of tourism on poverty.

Based on these principles, UNWTO?€™s general programme of work includes a number of activities aimed at maximizing the impact of tourism for the benefit of developing countries in general and LDCs in particular.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

There has been an up market trend in the tourism over the last few decades, especially in Europe where international travel for short breaks is common. Tourists have higher levels of disposable income and greater leisure time and they are also better-educated and have more sophisticated tastes. There is now a demand for a better quality products, which has resulted in a fragmenting of the mass market for beach vacations; people want more specialized versions, such as ‘Club 18 -30′, quieter resorts, family-oriented holidays, or niche market-targeted destination hotels. As well, people are taking second short break holidays.

The developments in technology and transport infrastructure such as jumbo jets and low-budget airlines have made many types of tourism more affordable. There have also been changes in lifestyle, such as retiree-age people who living as a tourist all the year round. This is facilitated by internet purchasing of tourism products. Some sites have now started to offer dynamic packaging, in which an inclusive price is quoted for a tailor- made package requested by the customer upon impulse.

There have been a few setbacks in tourism, such as the September 11, 2001 attacks and terrorist threats to tourist destinations such as Bali and European cities. Some of the tourist destinations, including the beach resorts of Cancún have lost popularity due to shifting tastes. In this context, the excessive building and environmental destruction often associated with traditional “sun and beach” tourism may contribute to a destination’s saturation and subsequent decline. Spain’s Costa Brava, a popular 1960s and 1970s beach location is now facing a crisis in its tourist industry. On December 26, 2004 a tsunami, caused by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake hit Asian countries bordering the Indian Ocean, and also the Maldives. Tens of thousands of lives were lost, and many tourists died. This, together with the vast clean-up operation in place, has stopped or severely hampered tourism to the area.

Sustainable tourism is becoming more popular as people start to realize the devastating effects of poorly planned tourism on communities. Receptive tourism is now growing at a very rapid rate in many developing countries, where it is often the most important economic activity in local Gross Domestic Product.

In recent years, second holidays or vacations have become more popular as people’s discretionary income increases. Typical combinations are a package to the typical mass tourist resort, with a winter skiing holiday or weekend break to a city or national park.

“The development of tourism means, above all, social progress, job ?creation and poverty alleviation”. 

`           Travel & Tourism has a number of advantages over other industry sectors:

it creates jobs and wealth whilst;
at the same time, it can contribute to sustainable development;
it tends to have low start-up costs;
is a viable option in a wide range of areas and regions;
is likely to continue to grow for the foreseeable future; and
the industry is, in a large part, aware of the need to protect the resource on which it is based – local culture and built and natural environment – and it is committed to these resources?€™ preservation and enhancement.

Go here to see the original: Tourism – a Fight Against Poverty

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Argentina: Student Tourism

Santiago Aramburu and

Gonzalo Casanova Ferro

For ever students

There are several theories that explain the origin of Tourism. Some of them spring from an anthropological fate, others speak about a psychic motivation and finally others try to impose a historical reading.

From this last trend other variants also spring; two great lines run through the theoretical frame of those who dare throw a hypothesis in this sense: there are those who identify the first tourists among the ancient pilgrims that sought to contemplate some of the world?€™s seven wonders, those who identify the medieval peoples that sought to visit sacred places and, finally, those who state that actually, presently, we should consider that the first tourists were students. Strictly speaking: ?€?graduates?€?. They meant, thus, XVII century upper-middle-class London people who, once they finished their studies, they began an initiate trip round the most important capitals of Europe, an antecedent of the ?€?Grand Tour?€? . It was not about a leisure or fun related activity, but about a means to complete their formation; it consisted of knowing the people and the markets their would later deal with professionally in a better way.

No matter how, here and throughout the world, Tourism, as we know it nowadays, emerged in the XX century.

At the beginning, tourist travels might have been a product of some wealthy man?€™s eccentricity. An elite?€™s privilege connected with the need for adventure, free time or a mere means to alleviate the upper classes boredom. But from the 30s on, it did not take long to get into a period which spread it as a working class right, right assisted by the so-called Well Being State y focused on the ?€?sun and beach?€? products (season and rigid packages, aimed ill-informed people). And so it finally became the NTE (New Tourism Era) which combines and surpasses both stages (great market segmentation, specialized products, tourist protection systems, sustainability conscience, etc).

The paradox implies that in recovering Tourism antecedents, the ancient European habit will revive as a juridical and market category, in such southern a scenery, that we could even say that in more fair conditions, it would not be exempt from light and shade.

We propose ourselves, then, to analyze what is meant by Student Tourism in Argentina, who its actors are and what its role is, going through the most difficult cases and their possible solutions.

Unlike our country, in the rest of the world expressions as ?€?student tourism?€? or ?€?student travel?€? may represent:

A) Any student trip lead by teachers and with an educational character ;

B) Certain organizations services for a university segment (also including teachers) ready to travel anywhere, normally abroad and generally for study reasons ;

C) the one made by student groups, organized by specialized people, when they decide to visit historical places, museums, parks, monuments, important natural environments, beaches, mountains, prairies, etc. and which allows them to closely know places and activities which they have barely known through lecture explanations ;

D) the one organized by learned youngsters, who obtain information via internet, who are motivated for life in a globalized society and combine their travel experiences with adventure, study, work and rest. They travel to become part of a traveling international community ;

What is meant by ?€?Student Tourism?€? in Argentina?

According to the hasty dictation of the 25.599 law, it shall be understood as such the one arising from art. 2º holding that:

?€?To the effects of the current law, student tourism shall be understood as:

a) Study travels: Formative activities integrated to the schools curricular proposal, which are organized and supervised by authorities and teachers from the respective institution;

b) Graduate travels: Tourist activities aimed at celebrating the finalization of an educational level or career, which are organized with the parents or student tutors participation, aimed at recreation and amusement, independent from the schools curricular proposal and without detriment of the fulfillment of the minimum days attendance according to the school calendar of each educative jurisdiction.?€?

Needless to say the previous definition has been subject to severe criticism. On the one hand, it seems excessive to include without any warning study travels, since a more strict interpretation of the norm would imply school trip should be mediated by a travel agent no matter its length or distance. One the other hand, when analyzing the second clause, it says that the formula ?€?parents participation or pupils tutors?€? turns out too open, giving rise to confusions or ambiguities. Anyhow, it is not our intention to solve it here, but only to set forth that maybe this norm in particular requires certain reconsidering.

Anyway, the ?€?Student Tourism?€? category is a legislative creation fit for Argentina, that in other countries can be mistaken either for ?€?youth tourism?€?, destined to cover vacations for that segment, or for ?€?interchange student tourism?€?, that is to say pupils of different nationalities who shift from one place to another to get the experience of a foreign langauge or different educational system. What we call “student tourism”, on the other hand,involves a very unusual phenomenon which, although it includes study as well as graduate travels, is very associated wiht the latter category, with winter season and focused on one destination: Bariloche.

For decades the destiny of “Student Tourism” has been San Carlos de Bariloche in Rio Negro province. Nowadays nobody doubts its position as regards to student travels; mainly for the second cycle (polimodal or secondary) of our educational system. This, without detriment of,in the future for market economy or currency reasons,losing its leadership if new destinations appear for this present segment.

The offers the same attractions as any other urban centre: good lodging, gastronimy options varieties, dancing places, etc; but combined with a privileged natural scenery. Founded in 1902 and with a design imporved by architect Alejandro Bustillo in the 30s, the city grew surrounded by the beauty of the Nahuel Huapi National Park, its mountain range geography covered with natural lakes and woods which make it the ideal place for skiing, climbing, trecking, and like activities.

At the beginings of the 60s the city abandoned its Bavarian alpine styleimprinted on it by the German architect Hacker, and its vertical development began7. The 70s and the 80s were in charge of placing this sports variety at the middle class reach aided by big carriers who saw there the chance for graduate travels. Its leadership reamins since then, in spite of intervals due to rising economy periods where we had to compete with international destinations (especially Brazil) or in crisis periods, like the present times, where second options such as Cordoba´s Villa Carlos Paz are considered. In spite of it, Bariloche is now overflowed during winter (june/july) which coincides with school vacations in most of the country.

Claimants and their roles

There exist five claimants who take part in the hire of “student travel” development services:

Schools

Students (and their legal representatives -parents or tutors-)

Service rendors/renderers

Agencies allowed to operate with “Student tourism”

National Tourism Secretary

Local Tourism authorities

Schools in general deal with the graduate travel issue as with a problem which requires a special treatment.

On one extreme and in order not to share responsibilities,promoters not only are not allowed enter the facilities, but also are parents and pupuils informed that service rendering is their own responsibility and risk; even more,teacher participation is discouraged and if travel coincides with working days (outside winter vacations period) absenteeism is registered.

Moderate positions try not to intervene in negotiation, but to supervise the the trajectory of the agency/ies who place offers. They suggest not only teacher participation but also parents or supervisors, as well as assistance to the students group who are travelling.

Finally, and as an exception, there are institutions who contradicting art.1 from 18.829 Travel Agents Law and art.18 from 118/05 Resolution, organize their own graduate travels, generally by underhand methods or by some intermediary teacher who “covers” forthe institutional infringement. 118/05 Reslution only contemplates an exception in its art.17 and it is that the offered travel must take only one day and it does not include to spend the night.

Since payment modalities of these sort of travels is made by installments throughout a year, students start probing into agencies to cantract during this period. In this sense, the experience of the same year´s graduates preceding them is usually important but not determinig. Some groups say yes and others reach a consensus with their parents. In Argentina the age of consent is 21 and only exceptionally some acts are allowed at 18. The average age at which pupils consider travelling is normally under this age, and therefore their parents or legal tutors will be the ones who will end up signing contracts with the agencies. Moreover, in hte case of some educational travels the age allowed is under 14.

Service rendors are the direct service suppliers, hotel managers, carriers,gastronomists, skii instructors, trainers, fotographers, etc. The agency keeps a commercial relationship with them, almost permanent which allows it to finance their costs in a better way ot of a volume and continuity offer. Where the ?€?optional?€? calls (everything that is sold and to the student´s adress) makes up for an important part of the business. Needless to say that in many cases the economic situation (particularly currency types) can determining for rendors to neglect local market, creating distortions or weakness in the sector of the Argentine agencies who work in the student´s segment.

For the travel agency to be able to operate in the Argentinean territory it must obtain a temporary or definitive license which needs to meet certain requirements:

A) To possess functional structure, i.e. phisical facilities and at least one registered competent´s contract (a Tourism phB), who will be responsible for the Agency´s technical aspects.

B) To have the corresponding Precarious Permit and the Provisional License.

C) That he or the firm´s holders have no criminal or commercial records that prevent them from trading.

D) To establish a Guarantee Fund generally made up by a bond insurance depanding on the agency´s tipe and location.

E) And finally, that the holder be registered as a Trader if it comes to a sole trader, or the activity be described in the corporate purpose, if it comes to a partnership.

The Travel Agency who furthermore seeks to organize graduate travels must previously obtain a ?€?National Authorization Certificate for Student Tourism Agencies?€?, which also means they must grant a life, a personal accidents, a civil accountability insurance, and another one for complete medical care, for each and every member of each contingent of students, that covers any risk from the beginning to the end of the travel. On the other hand, they must also annually submit an affidavit with the following information:

a) Firm´s personnel ?€“ main and branch offices- who will wait, in this environment,

on the student tourism area, with personal data and function specified;

b) Name, birth date, id number and adress of the persons who will take resposibility, coordinate and control compromise fulfillment in the travel destinations. They must also give the address of each place they will carry out their activities.

c) Offered programs. A brief sinthesis of the services they will render, giving name and address of the different service rendors:

Hotels, carriers and the ones in charge of the excursions, giving clear quantity of the palces contracted with each of them. Advertising brochures and material must be attached;

d) A list of the persons in charge of coordinating destinations and the group coordinator who must be over 21, giving name, id number and address, schooling, years of service in the company;

e) A list of the promoters of each company, name, they must be over 18, id number and address, schooling, years of service in the company;

f) Persons authorized to sign contracts.

g) The Agency holder must carry an authenticated copy of the contract model they will use for the services sale;

h) Insurance policies for civil liability, personal accidents and medical assistance;

i) Quantity of services programmed for the current year ?€“sold or booked-, indicating anticipated date of departure of the contingents, educational institution they belong to, destination, hotel they will be lodged in, transports they will use and all the services included with their certificate of qualification delivered by the CNRT. They must clearly specify quality, type and category of the different services. Likewise, unless it is a question of the year activities begin, they must attach a report with statistical detail of the previous year´s activities.

8 Although Resolutions speak of categories in terms of organizers or traders, this is not strictly like that since categories must be interpreted together with the Decrete 2182/72 which regulates Law 18.829, which only takes into consideration three kinds of agencies: Tourism and Travel Company (TTC), Tourism Agency (TA) and Tickets Agency (TA).

9 Regulations do not take into acount certain limitations belonging to insurance legislation related to minors and trade operation conditions.

As previously mentioned, trade method is done ahead of time, fractionally and documented in deed, generally standardized whose model can be downloaded from Internet10.

In the terms of the National Tourism Law11 and the National Student Tourism Law12, the National Tourism Secretary is the Application Authority. It is responsible for establishing national policies of the activity in the frame of the Strategical Federal Plan for Sustainable Tourism. It is before this institution that travel agents require their license, it it the body which deals with files and acts as controller, able to impose sanctions for infringement and/or non-observance of the norms which govern the activity, to the extent of being able to immediately cancel certifications delivered to transgressors.

Local Tourism Authorities often have more power to behave as the comptroller of the touristic destination and in deed in some provinces they have the Ministry rank. That is why in many jurisdictions inspectors are htemselves the local authority and control not only agencies but also hotel, gastronomy, dancing premises and other rendors. In the proper case of the San Carlos de Bariloche Townhall three norms govern:

?€? 1396-CM-04 Byelaw which organizes terms and range of a ?€?Student Tourism Services Certificate?€? it delivers to the borrower companies.

?€? 39-I-06 Byelaw which imposes an affidavit to suppliers and customers.

?€? 1026-I-06 Byelaw which calls for a record of entry in the AFIP.

So far everything seems to be considered and controlled; nevetheless, market situation can sometimes give unpleasant surprises: companies that close down for uncertain reasons and leave hundreds of tourists stranded or about to travel.

Strictly and comparatively speaking, agencies that collapse due to fraudulence or wrong administration are no so many. Out of three thousand eight hundred entered agencies, only two hundred fifty eight13 are qualified to trade ?€?student tourism?€? 14, and out of these an average of two per year in the lat five years record sudden falls for the above mentioned reasons; nevertheless,the sense of impunity and affliction such situations provoke n society, together with the mass media multiplying effect, generate some sort of public indignation, completely understandable.

We shall describe, then, four cases (probably the most outstanding) where civil administration seems to have learnt how to solve the different crisis provoked by agencies who unexpectedly stopped operating . Thus, preventive measures on the

company, deference to current and to the about-to-leave-passengers, coordination with

direct rendors and local authorities, negotiations with other agencies, etc. are being

10 www.turismo.gov.ar

11 Ley 25.997

12Ley 25.599

13 Figures from in January 2006 provided by Secretaria de Turismo de la Nación (Argentina).

14 Bulletin Nº 196 from Cámara Argentina de Turismo (CAT) 12/10/2005 cites a report from Secretaría de Turismo de Río Negro stating that ?€?the previous trade leaders, as Río de la Plata and El Rápido Argentino did not survive to the economy crisis and nowadays, the companies that bring most students (to Bariloche) are Travel Rock and Flecha Bus, which will take and render services to a 40% of the students?€?.

optimized not because regulations foresees them as a tool or a retaining wall fit for these sort of situations, but because Tourism phase and continuity as a state policy have thus allowed. What worries us then, is that these prodeedings have not had a normative correlation and therefore ?€?the solution?€? has been more operative than institutional.

The Río de la Plata Inc. Case

Río de la Plata Inc. had two corporations: Transporte Río de la Plata Inc. And Río de la Plata Tourism Inc. both had a travel agency license; nevertheless, from 1997 on the first one was withdrawn and only the latter was operating. Río de la Plata Tourism Inc. not only had the prestige for long being in the market, but also it had an infrastructure that allowed it to cover for transport and hotel services with their own unities and lodging.

In August 2002 an incident presaged the fall of one of the most important operators in student tourism. A group of parents, pupils and teachers took possession of a Río de la Plata company building inBuenos Aires in response to the notice announcing they would not be able to travel the next day due to a bus breakage.

Twenty four hours later the problem was solved but doubts were already there.

In November 2002 and precisely in two of the Río hotels (Austonia Inn and Austonia III) the trade union workers went on strike, and this provoked a series of breaches for the student who were already at destination. Reports were immediately given at the San Carlos de Bariloche Townhall and the National Tourism Secretary (since hotels running is local competence and travel agencies´ is federal). Strikers even threatened to block access routes for Río buses.

The company´s decision of a sudden change in Management and the closing of several branch offices caused the initiaion of administrative proceedings in December of the same year; in January 2003 it was quite obvious the the company would not be able to face services, so the Tourism Secretary issued a precausionary measure15: operation stay without detriment to demand the agency to fulfil the set up duties, though restricting it to operating in the future. By then fraud suspicions were apparent to everyone and Criminal Courts also intervened16.

Mass media and the questioned company´s wealth made facts transcend to the national politics atmosphere, entering not only in the agenda of several legislators but also in the President´s (Dr. Eduardo Duhalde); since he was summoned by the Bariloche Townhall Council to manage17 the resolution of the conflict with the Río de la Plata workers who had the whole city in their power.

Passengers who had not travelled yet were assisted by other agencies which in some cases accepted part of previous payments; and in other cases had negotiate either for stay days or for service quantity or both.

15 Order 79/03.

16 National Criminal Court Nº 31 Secretary Nº 119.

17 Resolution Nº 004-PCM-2003.

In November 2003 hotel auctions were initiated directed by the Work Chamber of Rio Negro18, but it was not until September 19th 2005 that bankrupcy was petitioned19.

The LAPA Estudiantil Inc. Case ?€“ Air Generation

LAPA was a single company but made up of two different coporations, LAPA Inc. and LAPA Estudiantil Inc.

At the beginning of 2003 roumors about the financies of the airlines were quite alarming; labor protests were rapidly increasing. According to some board members reasons were to be found in the price of aerial fuel or, beeter said, in the taxes levied on it, taxes which left this and other airlines very far from the profitabiliy line (already hard in itself to reach for any aeronautical enterprise).

The public bodies answers for this situation were dissimilar. The Transport Secretary, shich was perhaps the suitable body for proposing some alternative remained quiet; while the Tourim Secretary on the contrary, chose to deferthe renewal of the allowance for operating in student tourism, ( a preventive method for these cases).

In May the papers dramatically announced ?€?COMPANY CLOSED AND COMPANY DIRECTORS DISAPPEARED WITH NO EXPLANATIONS ?€“ LAPA could leave 1200 children without their graduate travel?€? 20. None of these were exactly like that, neither did the directors disappeared, nor were the graduates left without their travel, in fact in October that same year (paying a $85 difference and with arrangements done by the Tourism Secretary) the last contingent travelled21; nevertheless before getting these results, comings and goings oscilated between the tragical and the grotesque.

Parents protests before the Tourism Scretary seat, the Holders and Consumers Board of the legislature of Buenos Aires, negotiating and demanding a solution from the National Executive Power, offers by Aeroandina (main company´s shareholder) to reinvest and renew flights, if and only if, the government blocked fuel prices at (U$) $85 per lt., allowing them to rise the rate scale to a 20 %22, preventive stay of their license23 for a long sequence of irregularities committed by the company, journalists who hopelessly mistook bankrupcy proceedings for insolvency24, the uncertainty of those who paid a part and feared the syndic would claim the rest, and the opening of an eternal criminal record.

18 Aguilar Nair Marco and others with Transportes Automotores Río S.A. and another one without records.

19 National Trade Court Nº 25 Secretary 50.

20 Clarín Newspaper, 24/5/2003, Constanza Durán.

21 Clarín Newspaper 2/10/2003 Otra empresa se hizo cargo de 800 chicos

The graduates who were not taken by LAPA travel.

22 Tour Messenger Newspaper Feliz domingo para todos 9 June 2003

23 Order 487/03 from Secretaria de Turismo de la Nación

24 It was not until March 8th 2004 that the National Trade Court Nº 14 Secretary 28 dictated the company`s bankrupcy.

All this involved an enormous waste of efforts and dispositions and replies which turned out well due to a civic complaint and the good will of some officers.

The 5 Five Zones Case

The same as the previous one, Cinco Zonas SRL (Five Zones limited liability company) was a company specialized in the organization of travels for technical level graduates.

It operated normally, and had no excessive criminal records that would leading us to foresee what later happened. Moreover, the paradox is that the company´s managers had brought six reports against different agencies seeking to make them meet the current touristic normative.

It owned 7 branch offices around the country, which implies a more or less solid structure so as to yearly mobilize, and indeed they did, a great number of students. And according to their rendors, it did not owe big money amounts.

So, when least expected, there came the unexpected , in a weekend the main office located in Ciudad Autónoma de Bs. As. and its 7 branch offices alloted in the cities: Gran Bs. As., Córdoba, Mendoa and Salta had been completely emptied without warning.

In December 2005, Monday 19th every newspaper mentioned the disappearance of the Cinco Zonas managers, without a trace and having left their offices completely empty. For students, parents, rendors, authorities and the very employees surprise, who feared reprisal, the company´s managers disappeared leaving over 850 children stranded in San Carlos de Bariloche city and with no returning possibilities. This added to the next passengers about to travel; and some other 1200 approx. Who had already begun to pay the installments of the travel the would make in 2006.

The same day the news appeared, the National Tourism Secretary corroborated teh above mentioned situation by means of an inspection record, and declared the forfeiture of the company´s license for lacking operating structure (N 156/03 Resolution), trying to direct the situation.

What later happened was continuous and public parents and students complaints, especially in Córdoba province since most of the aggrieved students were from there.

In less than a week later, the students who were in Bariloche city and those who were about to travel were able to see their dream come true. Some tourism companies, the National Tourism Secretary and the Tourism Agency from Córdoba (province entity in charge of the tourism sector) combined, interceded for the fulfilment of the Cinco Zonas contracts after a negotiation with the rendors25.

25 Clarín Newspaper, Thursday 22nd, December 2005, Marta Platía.

So far, there was still one problem to solve; that of those who had started to pay in 2005 planning to travel the first half of 2006. Once more, some decided to close negotiations giving up price and/or services, and others prolongued conversations trying to improve their situation.

The cycle repeats itself. On one hand, the administrative complaints before the comptroller institution made by several damaged contingents, as well as by the verycompany´s emloyees.

On the other hand, the judicial issue related with criminal reports (still being processed) initiated in different parts of the country against the company´s holders in connection with the supposed swindle.

And, finally, the actual solution, i.e., different alternatives the injured party have and will have, according to context, time and will of those they negotiate with.

The Zaiga Travel case

Tours and Travel LLC, had been created as a family company oprating under the trade name of Zaiga Travel. They dealt with student tourism for many years, apparently with no problems at all, in fact in 2005 inspections ahd been made and the agency was in order and in agreement with the regulations in force. One day before the official announcement the company informed its hirers they would not give any more payments, since they were not able to meet pending compromises due to financial problems. The affliction extended over the 6000 involved who gradually became aware.

Most of them saught a response from the appropriate authority: The National Tourism Secretary and others appealed to the Government itself.

After meetings between the National Tourism Secretary and many local companies, it was announced tha Fleachabus Travel company and Tourism together with the collaboration of their service rendors would provide with new travel programmes especially designed to take care of the well known situation. Out of 256 damaged contingents, the majority accepted the new offer.

As for administrative proceedings, they were initiated the 15th of March 2006, and it was dictated by Disposition 453/06 from the National Tourism Secretary, the agency´s stay of operation and the opening of administrative records, for alleged infringement of Art. 8a of the Travel Agents Law (18.829) which would end up with the licence´s cancellation. The same day criminal records were opened at the Crime and Reformatory Bureau, and the Court 19° was chosen, case 13.888, with District Attorney N30.

Synthesis

From the above mentined experiences some criteria can be drawn:

A) From teh legal point of view: Labour cases will be upheld as long as, as happened with the Rio case, there exist property. If, on the contrary, an emptying takes place as with the Cinco Zonas case, it will be upheld, but there will be no payment. Trade cases will surely end up in bankrupcy, as well as the administrative case will end up fined and closed. Criminal cases, on the other hand, will be dalayed in time since it is generally very difficult to prove suitability for the criminal type.

B) From the damaged point of view: Whatever their situation is, they will be subject to affliction or uncertainty proper to those who endure malicious maneuvre. In fact, those who had not travelledend up hiring another company, giving up either part of the previous payment, comfort, days, excursions or a combination of the above mentioned.

C) From the market and political point of view: Delay between the damaging fact and the different solutions for each one of the claimants weakens the whole system. Then, crossed accusations between institutions, companies and holders are the ideal scenery for things to remain unchanged.

In search of a solution

?€?Truth is never bad…but unavoidable?€?, as the song goes. Put in other words Can everything be foreseen? Yes, it can; what we can not do is avoid it. That is to say, we can have the best road legislation, we can have a good signalling, good traffic lights and a good policeman at every corner, and that will not prevent someone from speeding infringing all these precautions. Can we prevent someone from emptying a company? someone from running away to avoid resposibility? someone from maladministrating a company leading it to bankrupcy? Definitely not, nut we can avoid its consequencies, without forgetting that obviously we are in front of a trading between private parties and that, further beyond shared setbacks we are still dealing with a luxury service. Thsi does not prevent us from understanding that as Dr Tale26 points out your graduate travel should not be considered just as any another travel, but as a unique episode and as such, when thwarted it deserves courts27 tutelage.

So far, it seems that when the student tourism agency breaches contract (whatever reasons), the logical thing to do would be to seek aid from the Warranty Fund; as the Art.13 from 18.829 Law comtemplates:

?€?Infringement to Article 6° from the law in force shall be sanctioned with oparation stay until the warranty fund´s normalization. The sanction will become license cancellation and closing of premises if the fund does not regularize in a six (6) month term. In that case, the fund´s balance shall be applied to indemnify for breach of contracts.?€? (the bold lettered sentence is ours)

26Tale Camilo, Travel Contract Vol II. Hammurabi Editorial?€“ Buenos Aires 2005

27Civil and Trade Chamber. La Plata, Room II, 11/3/93, ?€?Lucero, Carlos y otro c. Quilmas Tur S.A.?€?, JA, 1994-I-232.

But for this there are two obstacles difficult to solve without an act amendment; the first one is the amount and its estimation, the second one its set up manner. Criteria for determining the warranty amount are established by kind of agency and location, not by

operation volume, this gives smaller figures, hard to update and when it comes to indemnify for a serious infringement they would not even pay for the process. As for the manner, we have already mentioned the fund is normally composed by a bail insurance which determines, as Dr Benitez28 points out, that before the incapability of determining who shall travel, the Tourism Secretary becomes a beneficiary of it and therefore makes room for the interpretation that it can only be used for repaying fines, hindering the essence of the rule.

Beyond general complaints aimed at reducing presale terms, the parleyer debate in search of a definitive solution immediately appeared. Congress members took command and several projects drew the attention of the respective Tourism Boards:

a) The project impelled by the private sector29 and congressman

Heredia (PJ ?€“ FPV Córdoba) proposed to modify law 25.599, allowing the AAAVandT30 to be the one to categorize student travel agencies and administer an ad hoc Warranty Fund.

b) The UCR recovered a porject from the previous year already

introduced by congresswoman Beatriz Leyba de Martí

(Córdoba)31 and introduced another one by Silvana Giudici32

(Capital) where a ?€?Fund of Contingency for Student Travels?€? is

created, integrated by a 3% Agencies would deposit over the

services and programs billed value.

c) The Tinnirello Carlos A. project and others by the Social

Meeting Net of Capital Federal33 proposed a savings bank system

Unattachable which would be opened by Banco Nación for every

contingent at the same time.

d) De Bernardi Eduardo, congressman for Chubut (PJ ?€“ FPV)34

proposed that contracts for student tourism be approved by

the Customer Protection Secretary, to which there

also should be submitted consuming realted issues aroused by

infringements.

e) The ARI on the other hand, with ariel Gorbacz as intermediary

proposed the setting-up of a Trustee35 established in a bank firm

chosen by the students themselves.

But, actually, no matter the solution proposed it would not be feasible unless the necessary faculties were delivered to the application authority (as much as for demanding warranties as for taxing beyond the current year).

28 Kemelmajer de Carlucci, Aida and Benítez, Diego. Tourism, Law and Regional Economics. Rubinzal ?€“ Culzoni Editors, Buenos Aires 2003.

29 File Nº 3007-D-2006 / Parlamentary Procedure 64

30 Asociación Argentina de Agencias de Viajes y Turismo

31 File Nº 6874-D-2005 / Parlamentary Procedure

32 File Nº339-D-2006 / Parlamentary Procedure 22

33 File Nº 2874-D-2006 / Parlamentary Procedure 61

34 File Nº 1484-D-2006 / Parlamentary Procedure 25

35 File Nº 0862-D-2006 / Parlamentary Procedure 16

The party in power clearly felt this need and acted in consequence. The legislative debate at the Lower House did not turn out so strenuous. Over 153 congressmen present 136 voted in favour of the majority´s opinion, only 13 for denial and 3 abstentions. At

the Upper Chamber the procedure was as speedy as the previous one.

The New Law

The modification project for Student Tourism Law 25.599 impelled by the Partido Justicialista36 sanctioned in December 20th 2006 by Law 26.208 is only made up by 9 articles which constitute the basics to access a defenitive solution.

The first article replaces clause g) from the Art. 5° Law 25.599 demanding that, in the affidavit given by those who ask for the corresponding certificate, they declare the number of services programmed, sold or booked without restricting the information to the current year as done before. Furthermore, it requires that it be specified data not included in theoriginal text: total cost and by contingent.

The second article replacing article 6° Law 25.599 imposes a 15 working day term on those agencies who shall notify modifications to their affidavits, subjecting that condition to the generic sanction of the art. 10° Law 18.829.

The third article supplies for clause d) from the art. 7° Law 25.599 and mandates a rather confusing issue. The original text said that student tourism service sale contracts should hold among other requirements the following: ?€?Reliable certification of the insurance contract, for each of the contracting parties, civil liability, life, accident and complete medical care coverage, with data details of the contracting insurance companies.?€? The impossibility to impose life insurance on minors and the absence of a product for complete medical care coverage made it impossible to meet such demands. So the present text reads: ?€? reliable certification of contracts for each one of the tourists making up the student contingent of personal accident insurance which covers for death and total or partial, permanent or transient disability risk, for medical and farmaceutical asistance.?€? Explaining that regulations could require other portection instruments that in all cases they should cover for phisical risks from the biginning to the end of the travel.

The fourth article is the one cutting the Gordian knot by incorporating clause e) to the article 7°, it is worth saying, compelling the agency to add to their contract the accreditation of having established enough warranties which should correspond with the final amounts of the envolved services. Thus making a declarative enumeration of the kind of warranties the application authority could ask, which are: a) fiduciary funds, b) patrimonial, c) banking, d) financial, e) deposits, f) bail insurance.

36File Nº 53/06

Likewise, the 5° art. Brings another innovation, the sustitution of art. 10°, which although it supports the authority of the National Tourism Secretary, it goes in reversewith the established in Decrete 1013/02, previously remarked in clause b) of Article 10° and Articles 11° and 12° of the original text ( particularly, the first two granting competence to Customer Protection to solve consuming matters under the terms of Law 24.240 and complementary rules). Decrete based on the principle by which special rules prevail over general rules.

Finally, Art. 6° sustitutes for Art. 16° and transforms the obligation of cancelling the ?€?National Authorization Certificate for Student Tourism Agencies?€? for those agencies breaking the Law´s prescriptions; certificate given by a faculty that regards how delicate the closing process of an agency can be, and the need for, even in a closing process, the fullfilment of the assumed compromises. It applies the maximum penalization envisaged in Art. 10° of Law 18.829 and empowers to aggraviate up to the quintuple recurrence cases, in agreement to what was envisaged in art. 15° of the cited regulation.

The rest of the articled is rule-related.

To sum up: Resolution 237/07

We still had the challenge to find a solution insuring student travels, without imposing standards which in turn produce the opposite effect. A solution which prevented minors from running the risk of the operation and this latter from returning to the company environment.

This soluiton was provided by Resolution 237/07 dictated by the National Tourism Secretary who finally regulated Student Tourism. This implied to restructure A) Requirements demanded from those agencies who wanted to operate with Student Tourism. B) Contract terms. Apart from C) To constitute a private Trust administered by Nation Trust37 D) To modify the Insurance arrangement E) To establish a new arrangement for Coordinators and F) To fix coming obligations

A) The main modifications introduced in the general conditions to provide a certificate for the agencies who wanted to operate with student tourism were:

?€? To remove term dates, being able to request for it whenever necessary.

?€? To require affidavits every year to update the information in the student tourism file.

?€? To submit a contract certificate of each contracted service of each rendor and in the traders case the compromise shall be submitted by the organizer.

?€? Every two months a currency certificate of the tradings must be submitted.

?€? Traders must submit a copy of adherance to the Trust.

?€? Traders must submit a copy of the organizer´s warrant so they can act on his/her behalf in the contracts they enter into.

?€? They should attach a model of the book of coupons they will use.

37 www.nacionfides.com.ar

?€? They should state if contracts will be entered into before 60 days since the beginning of the travel and if study travels will be done.

?€? Those who state entering into contracts with more anticipaction than the 60 days before the travel shall submit:

? Pre-purchase certificate with classification or bail insurance policy and/or

? A letter of intent registering their disposal to give a banker´s reference and/or

? A letter of intent delivered by a Reciprocal Guarantee Company entitled with the authorization of the BANCO CENTRAL DE LA NACION ARGENTINA,

registering their disposal to give this kind of reference

B) Contract terms imply that:

?€? Services included are: transport, lodging, gastronomy, day excursions ?€“except for active and/or adventure tourism- and insurance.

?€? Within the 30 days after the contract signing consumers should send contract agreements to the contingent´s travel agent.

?€? The agent shall enter the contract´s data into the application system with a registration password given with the certificate.

?€? Consumers shall have access to the system to check their contract.

?€? The agreement shall be improved with the PAYMENT OF INSTALMENT ZERO.

?€? INSTALLMENT ZERO shall be the 6% of each contract, whose voucher will be given by the agent and each passenger will be able to pay for at Banco de la Nación Argentina and Rapipago branches.38

?€? The Special Installment for 2006 travels will only bring the 1,5% of the unsettled contract already signed.

C) As far as the Trustee concerned:

?€? It shall guarantee obligations for breach of contract

?€? Organizers shall underwrite the contract of the administration private trustee

?€? The percentage on the amount of each individual contract will be the 6% of it.

?€? The contribution whall be deposited in legal currency in the account under the name of FONDO DE TURISMO ESTUDIANTIL determined by the fiduciary.39

D) The insurance system was adjusted to the following parameters:

?€? CIVIL LIABILITY

Total: ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND PESOS ($100.000) minimum.

Range: the whole Argentina country (including foreign destinations in case of dealing with them).

Minimum risks: Civil liability. Fire, thunder, explosion, electric discharge, gas leak. Food supply. Civil liability in third parties vehicle transportation.

38 www.cuotacero.com.ar

39 www.turismoestudiantil.gov.ar

?€? PERSONAL ACCIDENTS + ADDITIONAL COVERAGE

Total: FIFTY THOUSAND PESOS ($50.000) minimum.

Additional Coverage: FIVE THOUSAND PESOS ($5.000) Medical and Pharmaceutical Aid policy.

Range: life and permanent or temporary, total or partial disability coverage for each tourist consumer.

?€? TRAVELERS´ASSISTANCE

Total: FIVE THOUSAND PESOS ($5.000).

Range: emergency, accrediting register and authorization before the Health Services Superintendency.

E) The group´s coordinators shall meet the following contitions:

?€? Older than 21 years old with intermediate level or complete secondary studies.

?€? Criminal record and second offence certificate delivered by the NATIONAL MINISTRY OF JUSTICE AND HUMAN RIGHTS

?€? Good conduct certificate delivered by the coordinator´s domicile police.

F) Finally, travel obligations shall be:

?€? To have a coordinator every 35 consumers or fraction.

?A complete list of the contingent delivered by the APPLICATION SYSTEM OF STUDENT TOURISM

?€? Copy of the underwritten contract with each contingent

?€? Personal accidents coverage certificate, medical and pharmaceutical assistance and travel assistance record

?€? Medical records filled in by each tourist´s family doctor

As we can see, the STUDENT TOURISM FUND´s mission is to refund the consumers´ representatives the difference between the payments to the travel agents and services rendered by another trustee, to which the rendor would have aknowledged the payments done by the damaged travel agent. But for this to be possible, it was necessary to set reasons clear:

1. Travel´s cancellation for causes not related with consumers, wihthout force majeure or emergency

2. Travel agent´s manifestation of breach of duties

3. Travel agent´s default on payment of duties assumed with service rendors or the cancellation of the booking of the services hired

4. Facts or omissions provoking uncertainty of the travel or presumption of breach

5. Should any of the previous items happen, and the SECTUR for onerous and urgency reasons thus determines in virtue of the powers granted by art. 37 of Law N° 25.997 and other regulations in force.

REGULATORY EVOLUTION OF STUDENT TOURISM

Rule Date Issue

Res. 135 04/24/1987 Student Tourism information to the Application Authority

Res. 159

Repealed by Res. 187 and ratified by Res. 118 04/12/89 Requirements extension

Law 25.599 05/23/2002 National Student Tourism Law

Decree 1013 06/13/2002 Observaciones a la ley nacional de Turismo Estudiantil

Res. 175

Repealed by Res. 187 and ratified by Res. 118 01/29/2003 Devicing of the Certificate and instruction set

Act 35

Modernization and Competitivity Management ?€“ Repealed by Res. 187 and ratified by Res. 118 02/24/2003 Devicing of the model of Certificate

Res. 187 Repealed by 118 03/09/04 New requirements for the Certificate

Res. 118

02/08/2005 Certificate delivery system

Res. 987 08/24/2005 Amendment to Res. 118 Updated fees for the submision of application forms.

Res. 274 03/22/2006 Amendment to Res. 118 States that requested certificates shall be delivered from March 2nd of each year or following working day.

Res. 451 05/12/2006 Amendment to Res. 118 Demands the submision of Affidavits for sesrvices bound for the next year and difered application forms for 180 days.

Law 26.208 12/20/2006 Amendment to Law 25.599

Res. 237 03/15/2007 Passes new Student Tourism Regulation

Original post: Argentina: Student Tourism

For the past decade, medical tourism has touched and improved many lives across the world. This trend of global healthcare has been meting out benefits galore not only for the patient in need of quality care but also for those offering the same. A million-dollar industry, this phenomenon is a win-win situation for both parties. Apart from the pioneers, there are many other places making great strides in the same field, and one of them happens to be Mexico. No one’s unaware of Mexico’s popularity as a famous tourist destination, but its reputation as a nation furthering the aim of global healthcare is fast catching up. Increased economic growth has led to many positives, some of them being improved standards of healthcare, technological advancements, and fast-paced scientific breakthrough. With all this comes the biggest advantage of low-cost, high-quality medical services being offered by many private and public hospitals. The high and many a times exorbitant prices of medical services in North America really does pinch thousands of average citizens who just can dig that deep into their wallets. Reaping the benefits that Mexico as a medical tourism hub has to offer seems like the best thing to do. Add to that, the close proximity, cultural familiarity and fluency in English make this Southern American nation a viable option.

It should come as a surprise to you when we say that you have to shell out just fraction of the cost for an all-inclusive package. This includes travel, medical treatment, accommodation and after-care services, very probable, isn’t it? Well that’s what health tourism does for you, bringing you the care that you need sans the stresses of hefty medical bills. It is also an appealing option for both the uninsured and the underinsured. When there exist affordable means to procure specialized procedures for enhancing or regaining youth, why not avail them? Many insurance policies either don’t pay for or do so partially when it comes to cosmetic therapies. Partial coverage for a person transforms into incurring sizeable out-of-pocket expenses. It is not just the urgent medical procedures that Mexico’s hospitals cater to but also provide for elective treatments, aesthetic services being one of them. Some of the cosmetic treatments that you can avail include

breast augmentation liposuction, rhinoplasty, advanced laser therapies, breast reduction, weight loss, cosmetic dentistry, and facial lifts. Expect nothing but the best from global healthcare hubs. Apart from being applicable to medical services, the best is offered when it comes to medical equipment, infrastructure and logistics, accommodation, nursing staff, administration, after- care services, and doctors and specialists. Not for nothing does the land of tropical beaches, high volcanic plateaus, and ancient ruins of advanced civilizations from the past attract thousands of medical tourists every year. Just pack your bags, fly down to Mexico, fix that condition/illness of yours, and if health and time permits, have some fun by the beach.

Original post: MEDICAL TOURISM IN MEXICO

The act of traveling abroad for medical purposes has not only evolved into a norm but is proving to be beneficial for one and all. There are many hubs of medical tourism offering a helping hand to those who need it, but the one that deserves a specific mention is India. Having become a pioneer in the field, the nation’s best hospitals are among those leading the cause of global healthcare. India receives medical tourist from over 50 countries across the world. Many attributes collectively go on to make what India the best in the business of health tourism. It has been successfully seen and experienced by millions that the results for clinical examinations are at par with the West’s best medical centers, courtesy internationally qualified and experienced doctors. Expenses happen to be the most important reason why citizens of the world choose India as a preferred destination for medical services. They end up spending just one-fifth or one-tenth of the total cost involved, and this is an all-inclusive figure, comprising your travel expenditure, accommodation charges, treatment cost and after-care services. What you can also expect from your medical visit to the country is a nice and enjoyable vacation, that is, after you are done with your treatment. There are many individuals who are not comfortable talking about their illnesses and conditions and would like to get treated under anonymity. That’s exactly what you get when you choose to undergo medical procedures outside your homeland. Affordable surgical abroad sans the long waiting periods and the exorbitant price tag, India as a medical destination offers you this and much more. the vast reservoir of doctors and specialist combined with lost cost of medical care in India make it a very viable option for not only those coming from the developed nations but also from places where medical facilities are not that up to the mark. A growing economy, fast-paced technological advancements, and scientific breakthrough have given India the necessary push required to be placed on a bigger platform. A patient coming from anywhere in the world is greeted with world-class infrastructure, top-of-the-line medical equipment, trained nursing staff, luxury accommodation facilities, and an efficient administration. You can also be assured of the authenticity of the private hospitals operating in India, as they are all duly certified by international body like Joint Commission International.

Having spoken at length about the hospitals and other aspects that make them a top medical tourism destination, we now shift the focus to the medical procedures themselves. Apart from the mainstream medical care and services, varied types of alternative therapies and treatments could also be found. Be it urgent or elective, the healthcare providers in India have a comprehensive list of procedures for a number of specialties.  These include neurology, urology, orthopedics, ophthalmology, ear, nose & throat treatments, gynecology, oncology, cardiology, weight loss surgery, organ transplants, pediatrics, infertility treatment, stem cell therapies, Ayurveda, naturopathy, and Unani medicine.

Original post: THE BEST IN MEDICAL TOURISM BUISNESS: INDIA

Medical Tourism Thailand

Humans are just like machines, often vulnerable to wear and tear. In the quest to achieve more and more we use and, at times, abuse our systems. This eventually leads to breakdown sooner than later. But that fact remains that health and general well being are of utmost importance to proper functioning of machines called human body. Helping the same cause, today, is medical tourism. Seeking health services in a foreign country is no longer a painstaking process. One of the prominent destinations for medical tourism happens to be Thailand. Providing assistance to every kind of patient and catering to all needs, Thailand boasts of some of the best hospitals.

Cheap airline tickets, easy accessibility to experts, and professional post care services, all these factors make the country a big hit among the medical tourists. Be it cosmetic, dental, elective or essential surgery, you name it and the hospitals in Thailand have it. True, the thought of undergoing surgery abroad could make you think twice. But when you go through the sites, read testimonials and hear successful stories, your doubts are bound to fade away. Efficient and competent in every aspect, Thailand?€™s health care centers help the patient in each and every way. Right from giving out proper information about prices, procedure and doctor selection, booking flight tickets, providing transport services, arranging hotel stay, to recovering at your chosen place of stay and follow up back in your home country.

Bangkok, in particular, is the most sought after destination for all medical tourists. The city?€™s hospitals provide a multitude of low cost personal health care services. These include breast enlargement, dental implants, drug rehabilitation, infertility treatment, In-vitro fertilization, egg donation and plastic surgery. State-of-the art medical equipment and latest scientific technology are some of the basics present at top hospitals in the city. Apart from actual medical services, some health centers in Bangkok also offer medical escorts and concierge services. Planning a medical trip to Bangkok is also like a vacation in disguise. If time and health permits, you actually get to enjoy one of the most popular tourist destinations on the planet. Affordability is not the only factor drawing hundreds of people to the city for medical tourism. These hospitals have on-board some of the well qualified doctors certified by American and Australian Boards.

Inadequate insurance covers can leave you in the lurch. Not having deep pockets can bar you from getting top quality and comprehensive health care in your country. Do you really want all of this? Or would you rather choose to fly to Thailand and get the best care and services possible. But before you pick a hospital make sure it has achieved the International Standards Organization’s ISO 9001:2000 accreditation. Many leading health care providers in Thailand have their own quality assurance department.

See the original post here: Medical Tourism In Thailand

The phenomenon of medical tourism has already attained a celebrity status of sorts. Thousands of people the world over have and continue to benefit from this positive trend. Global healthcare comes not only as a savior for those in need of urgent medical treatment but also helps ones that are on a lookout for elective procedures. A fact well-established is that the medical system in many first-world countries happens to be not only exorbitant but long and tedious, that is if you wish to seek help of a specialist. For some, waiting for long is just not an option. There are illnesses and conditions that require one to take swift decisions. This is exactly where medical tourism comes into play. With medical cost and traveling expenses totaling to half of what you would have spent in a place like America or England, and easy access to professionals and experts, one doesn’t need to think twice. It does cause frustration that even after you bought some kind of cover, one either remains underinsured or not insured at all for certain circumstances. Life is unpredictable, and you may never know when and how it’ll give you a jolt. Healthcare tourism is that one friend that helps you in these unforeseen situations.

That said, it becomes clear that one just doesn’t need to even think twice when it comes to getting quality medical care. Be it related to the heart, bones, brain, and liver or just about anything, illnesses of any kind need to be treated under expert care, and in a certain timeframe. Traveling to a medical tourism hub saves you from not only the unwanted frustration but on a lot of precious time that you, as a healthy individual after the treatment, can spend with your family.

Surgery abroad is a big hit among people from far and wide. On the verge of becoming common, more and more people are being recommended surgery. A variety of medical services are offered by hospitals that cater to the medical tourist. These include cancer treatments, cardiac care, dental procedures, diabetes management, ophthalmologic treatments, fertility procedures, general surgery, gynecology, orthopedic treatments, stem cell therapy, transplants, urological procedures, and bariatric surgery. Main stream medical services apart, one can also avail Alternative Treatments, such as Ayurveda, oriental medicine, naturopathy, wellness and spa treatments, cosmetic procedures and dermatology. A fast-paced growth in the economy, technological advancements, scientific breakthrough and increased standards of health, just some of the contributing factors that have led countries like India, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Singapore become pioneers of medical tourism. A step into their hospitals and you’ll find nothing but state-of-the-art infrastructure, world-class medical equipments, experienced professionals, trained nursing staff, an efficient administration, and overall a comely ambience, so that you don’t feel away from home.

See the article here: FAR REACHING EFFECTS: MEDICAL TOURISM AND ITS BENEFITS

A crystal clear fact to one and all, living in countries like the United States of America and the United Kingdom, healthcare costs are soaring by the day. Not just that, even if you somehow manage to pull some strings and keep aside that much need hefty amount for your medical treatment in your home country, you still get to be anywhere closer to quality care. Reason? It is the long frustrating wait periods one has to go bear. Underinsured in America are as good as the uninsured. I mean what’s the point in bearing out-of-pocket expenses despite shelling out a neat amount for an insurance cover. Put an end to these, go the medical tourism way. Believe you me, the pros far outweigh the cons in this case. Firstly, your health is at stake, don’t let that go off your hands. In fact, take an immediate step and travel to any of the medical tourism hubs. Finding quality and affordable medical treatment might be a mean task in your home country, but certainly not in countries like India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, or Hong Kong. And, these are just the pioneers we have stated. There many others, who with their improved standards of medical care, upcoming state-of-the-art hospitals and inexpensive opportunities for foreign tourists, are attracting many patients from the developed world. Talking of one such example, Costa Rica has become one of the most preferred places for cosmetic Surgery You neither have to dig deep into your wallets nor wait for several months before receiving the medical that your require. It doesn’t come as a surprise then that every year millions of medical tourists from across the world flock to some of the most hottest medical tourism destinations in order to receive five-star treatment at unbelievable prices. For them, it is not just a step towards better health and improved living but also an excuse to go on a vacation which they would normally put it off. Receiving dual benefit at the price of one, now isn’t hat just too good to resist? It doesn’t matter what your illness or condition is, be rest assured, you’ll find the best of quality medical services. These include cardiac care, dental procedures, diabetes management, ophthalmic procedures, general and specific surgeries, transplants, neurological treatments, stem cell therapies, fertility treatments, and urological procedures. If you are among those that want to turn back age clock and get a youthful make-over, fret not. Providing you at an unbelievable cost, medical tourism hubs are the best place to find alternative treatments, oriental medicine, ayurvedic therapies, naturopathy, weight loss and management, and wellness and spa therapies. Banish all those ifs and buts that you might have regarding going overseas for a medical procedure. With this being such a serious business, you won’t find any one private hospital in the field of health tourism without proper certification and authentication.

Here is the original post: HEALTH TOURISM, HELPING YOU TODAY AND TOMORROW

Build Niche Store

There’s nothing more precious the one’s health and one should take good care of it. But, in these urban times, the pressures of daily life coupled with a poor diet and lack of exercise puts us in the high risk factor. While many get trapped in the clutches of debilitating illnesses, only a few go scot-free. Apart from this can you even begin to imagine the amount of pollutants that you are ingesting? Nothing is pure and unadulterated these days and chemicals have a way of finding us, and as a result, ill-health happens. Add to this, the rather heavy burdens of costly medical services, or long waiting periods, and you are in for a more stress. The rich and wealthy have access to medical facilities anywhere they like, but what about the middle-class? This was the story the world over a few years back, but the scene has pretty much changed since the advent of medical tourism. Affluent or not-so-affluent, we all like to take a vacation every now and then, how about combining this vacation with a medical treatment overseas? The phenomenon of medical tourism does exactly that, helping millions across the world overcome their illnesses and lead them to a better life, a small yet fulfilling vacation being a sidekick. Traveling to a foreign country for healthcare procedures has come to be an accepted norm these days, and why shouldn’t it? With rising costs of medical treatments in the developed nations combined with a good-for-nothing insurance policy has made many look towards global healthcare. Middle-class makes up for a large section of the western society with many having a rather modest insurance cover. The medical system in the west doesn’t suit everyone, where one might have to endure long waiting periods before they can even meet a specialist or bear out-of-pocket expenses despite coverage.

Health tourism is benefiting not only the people from the west but also those coming from under-developed nations where certain medical facilities are not available at all. Being a medical tourist has not just one but several advantages. For one you get access to best quality medical care at the fraction of the cost. Don’t be surprised if statistics tell you that the entire medical tourism package that includes travel expenses, expenditure for medical services, accommodation cost and after-care services cost half of what it would have been in the west. Apart from the hugely important price factor, private hospitals catering to the global medical tourist have world-class infrastructure, state-of-the-art medical equipment, highly experienced specialists, trained nursing staff, decent accommodation facilities, and an efficient administration. Be it elective or urgent, no matter the medical procedure that you require, you are bound to find a comprehensive list of medical services in a  health tourism hub.

Originally posted here: The phenomenon of medical tourism