Stručni rad
The globalization of dental care: An opportunity for Croatian tourism
Patricia R. Loubeau
; Hagan School of Business, Iona College, New Rochelle, USA
Sažetak
Tourism is an expanding industry throughout the world and tourism in Croatia is no exception. A trend categorized as “medical tourism” has emerged, wherein citizens of highly-developed countries choose to bypass care offered in their own communities and travel to developed areas of the world to receive a wide variety of medical services in order to save money. Medical tourism had its origins in private pay patients seeking low-cost aesthetic enhancement for cosmetic surgery that was not covered by insurance. Now it is an option for many types of treatment including fertility procedures, eye surgery, heart surgery, general surgery such as hip and knee replacement and dentistry. Traditionally, tourists have come to Croatia in order to visit the coastline with its many islands, blue sea, and ancient towns. There is a need for the tourism industry in Croatia to include more than the Adriatic coast. Dental tourism, a niche sub-segment of medical tourism is an opportunity to expand its touristic opportunities beyond the coastline cities of Dubrovnik, Split, and Hvar, but to Zagreb as well. This paper explores the role of dental tourism as a marketing option for Croatia.
Ključne riječi
dental tourism; marketing; dentistry; cost comparison; Croatia
Hrčak ID:
52951
URI
Datum izdavanja:
15.9.2009.
Posjeta: 1.775 *