Central and Eastern Europe as a Medical Tourism Destination: a Case Study of Poland

The medical tourism has been changing the healthcare scene especially in the developing countries which offer a combination of low costs for medical services and experienced medical personnel. It gives them the potential to become a target of choice for medical tourists. Therefore, the aim of the paper is verification of Central and Eastern Europe as a medical tourism destination (MTD). Research were conducted in the light of primary and secondary research. Survey data were collected from 282 German and British tourists, using a self-administered questionnaire. The results indicated that the medical associations are most frequently chosen associations with Poland. The MTD associations are able to develop marketing strategies for medical tourism entities and destination management organisations

Destination management organizations and health tourism visual identification in Central and Eastern Europe

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify and diagnose the activities of national destination management organizations (DMOs) from Central and Eastern European countries (CEEC) in the scope of a visual identification of health tourism destinations. Design/Methodology/Approach: The investigations were conducted on three stages: (1) a verification was performed of the existence of national DMOs in CEEC; (2) when making targeted selection, a questionnaire interviews were performed with 16 DMO representatives; (3) desk research was conducted, i.e. an analysis of the contents of the official websites/ portals and social media of DMOs. Findings: The role of health tourism is to grow in the coming years in the opinion expressed by the DMOs examined. The organizations under examination try to address this trend by indicating that health tourism, even at its current stage, constitutes a fairly important tourism product. The current status of the visual identification of HTD created by DMOs in the states under examination is rather poor. A small part of organizations identify themselves directly with the health tourism product. A significant part of the organizations do not undertake any activities in this area. In turn, those that do undertake such activities rely primarily on fairly common elements such as: an internet website, possibly a logo and an advertising slogan. Practical Implications: The results may serve as a point of departure for taking adequate activities aimed promotion at the health tourism product not only by other national DMOs but also by similar organizations on the regional or local level. Originality/Value: The variety of health tourism products available at CEEC puts new tasks for DMOs. The article highlights the important role of the entity that is responsible for the management of the HTD brand.peer-reviewe

Tourist activity among urban singles in view of socio-demographic factors

Aim of Study: Estimation of urban singles tourism activity in the context of socio-demographic factors. Material and Methods: The study involved 598 randomly selected singles from Warsaw and Poznan. They represented six socio-occupational groups. The relationship between tourist activity and socio-demographic variables characterizing the socio-demographic structure of the respondents was established with the chi-square test. Results: The rate of tourist activity of the respondents in the studied group is over 90%. Singles from Warsaw prefer shorter but more frequent trips. Among the respondents, a very active group was belong to the range of age 50-60 years. It was found that there is high positive correlation for participation in tourism with the level of education and income. There was no such relation between the sexes. The most frequently declared were – strictly tourist, VFR and business. Conclusions: The clash of a growing trend in the number of people running one-person households with a tendency for seeking individualized ways of spending free time, forces the managers of the physical activity and tourism sector to tailor the offers for this specific target group

Turystyka medyczna przejawem współczesnych trendów i tendencji w turystyce

The purpose of article is to draw attention to the emergence of a new and niche form of modern tourism, mainly Medical Tourism. Owing to EU regulations on new principles for the use of health care system, a new opportunity has been created for developing this particular form of tourism. The first part of the article is a compilation – providing the background concepts for the idea of Medical Tourism as seen from the point of view of representatives of various sciences, the author also prescribes his own concept for the definition of “Medical Tourism” and a participant in this form of tourism, i.e. “medical tourist”. In the following part, medical tourism services have been described, with particular emphasis on their scope of providing services and features characterizing them. Moreover, important factors have been identified (e.g. individual, institutional, political factors) that are considered to be shaping the contemporary trends in Medical Tourism

Correlations between individual factors and long-term nature of tourist trips amongst urban single people

Data on single people from Poznan were taken from A.P. Lubowiecki-Vikuk’s doctoral dissertation, entitled “Determinants of recreational and tourism activity among single men and women from the Wielkopolska Province”, written under the supervision of Stefan S. Bosiacki (University School of Physical Education in Poznan). This work was supported by Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw and Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland (grant DS – 86; project leader Full Professor A.K. Gajewski), and Rector of Warsaw School of Economics funds.Background: The analysis of socio-demographic factors that determine the duration of tourist trips among urban single people. Material/Methods: The research included 598 randomly selected single people from Warsaw and Poznan. The study was conducted using the survey method. The relation between trips for ≥ 10 days and the variables characterizing the demographic structure of the respondents were assessed using log-linear analysis. The significance of the impact of the factors examined in the analysis was determined by chi-squared test. Results: Single people from Poznan with secondary and higher education are, respectively, more than 4-fold and 7-fold likely to go on longer trips (≥ 10 days) than shorter ones ( PLN 2,000 (3 times in Poznan, 7 times in Warsaw) and those declaring income < PLN 1,500 (1.6 times in Poznan, 1.5 times in Warsaw). In the case of respondents from Warsaw, being a man doubles the likelihood of traveling for ≥ 10 days. Conclusions: Participation of urban single people in long-term trips is a reflection of contemporary trends in the market of tourist services. However, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive analysis of leisure time behavior of single people. It is crucial in the quest to satisfy the tourist desires of today's consumers of leisure services

Istota funkcjonowania międzynarodowych organizacji turystyki medycznej

Zaprezentowana grupa międzynarodowych organizacji i lokalnych stowarzyszeń (w tym, klastrów turystycznych), działających na rzecz turystyki medycznej, z pewnością stanowi istotne ogniwo, które w mniejszy lub większy sposób wspomaga i koordynuje rozwój – jednej z współczesnych form turystyki zdrowotnej – jaką jest turystyka medyczna. Turystyka medyczna rozumiana jest jako świadoma działalność człowieka, w której podróżny (turysta medyczny) ma na celu uzyskanie szeroko pojmowanej opieki zdrowotnej – zarówno we własnym kraju, jak i zagranicą – polegającej przede wszystkim na zachowaniu (pozyskaniu) lepszego stanu zdrowia, lub/i estetycznego wyglądu własnego ciała, połączonego z wypoczynkiem, regeneracją sił fizycznych i psychicznych, zwiedzaniem atrakcji i walorów turystycznych oraz rozrywką. Należy podkreślić, iż zdrowotny aspekt turystyki znajduje się w kompetencji wielu międzynarodowych organizacji (m.in. UNWTO, WHO), tym samym mogą one podejmować wszelkie działania współpracy, przyczyniając się m.in. do zwiększania świadomości współczesnego społeczeństwa o możliwości uzyskania opieki zdrowotnej poza stałym miejscem ich zamieszkania, czy też normalizacji przepisów prawnych w tym zakresie. Zatem, celem niniejszego artykułu jest przedstawienie funkcjonowania organizacji turystyczno-medycznych o charakterze międzynarodowym, krajowym i lokalnym, a także wskazania głównych ich misji i kompetencji.The group of international organizations and local associations (including tourism clusters) acting for medical tourism, as presented in this article, certainly plays an important role, which in a greater or lesser way supports and coordinates the development of one of the contemporary forms of health tourism, that is medical tourism. Medical tourism has been understood as a conscious activity, in which a traveller (a medical tourist) aims to receive health care services on a broader scale – both in his or her own country and abroad – directed mainly to preserve (or acquire) a better health condition, and/or aesthetic appearance of his or her own body, combined with relaxation, regeneration of physical and mental strength, sightseeing and entertainment. It should be emphasized that the health aspect of tourism is in the competence of various international organizations (including the UNWTO, WHO), thus they can take all the co-operation activities, contributing to raising awareness among contemporary people about the possibility of obtaining healthcare beyond their permanent place of residence, or the standardization of legislation in this area. Therefore, the aim of this article is to present the functioning of the organizations of medical tourism of an international, national and local character and to indicate their main mission and competencies

Kierunki wyjazdów turystycznych młodzieży gimnazjalnej z wybranych województw

Junior high school youth constitutes an atypical consumer segment of tourist services. Such consumers are willing to take risks, search new interpersonal contacts, discover new cultures, want to expand their knowledge using typical tourist products at the same time. Parents and guardians have a significant impact on their behaviours. In 2013 research into tourist activity among 1067 junior high school pupils from 5 Polish voivodships (Mazovian, Lodz, Greater Poland, Kuyavian-Pomeranian and Warmian-Masurian) was conducted. The youth was asked questions about their tourist destinations: domestic and international trips (European and outside Europe). As a result of own research, the spatial range of holiday destinations was determined on the basis of descriptive analyses

Medical tourism services and medical tourism destinations in Central and Eastern Europe - the opinion of Britons and Germans

The aim of this paper is to identify preferred Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) medical tourism destinations (MTD) and medical services in the context of socio-demographic determinants. The computer-assisted web interviewing (CAWI) method was used. A total of 282 completed self-administered questionnaires were collected from Britons and Germans, who constitute a large segment of medical tourists in CEE. Subsequently, the responses were analysed using the chi-square test and the method of logistic regression function. The results indicated that the chosen destinations and medical services vary depending on gender, age and nationality. The survey results have implications for scholars, allowing them to understand the way Britons and Germans evaluate MTDs and medical services in CEE, as well as for medical tourism facilitators/brokers and destination management organisations engaged in the process of creating a medical tourism product. The obtained results have also implications for further research related to the development of medical tourism in CE

Socio-Demographic Determinants of Leisure Time Physical Inactivity of Adolescents from the Voivodships of Central Poland

The aim of the study is to assess the physical leisure time activity among the students of grade I&ndash;III of junior high school (aged 13&ndash;16) &ndash; during the school year and holidays &ndash; and identify possible causal factors of physical inactivity in this social group. The relationship between participation in sport for all during the school year (regular, periodic, sporadic) and during holidays (physically active/passive) and socio-demographic variables characterizing the structure was analyzed using the Chi 2 test. The relationship between respondents inactivity and those traits was assessed using log-linear analysis. The higher the grade (especially among girls), the more physically inactive individuals, the number of which grew during the school year as well as during holidays. The risk factors for inactivity included high BMI, living in the countryside and female sex. In case of girls (76.3%) the risk of inactivity increased by almost 1.4 times, as it did (OR = 0.75) with regard to living in rural areas (76.4%). The chance of being active increases more than 3-fold among those with normal BMI (28.0%) and the underweight (29.9%). Adolescents&rsquo; inactivity (increasing along with the grade pupils are in) points to the shortcomings of Polish process of education and an urgent need for system-based approach to promote active lifestyle in this social group

Współczesne tendencje w rozwoju form rekreacyjnych i turystycznych, 75 s.

New solutions in the field of recreation and tourism are constantly being researched so as to meet the needs and expectations of a contemporary man. The most frequent factors shaping new trends in recreation and tourism are: demographic factors, economic factors, the style and quality of life, awareness and education, development of technology, pace of applicating new innovations and globalization (including consumerism). In the following publication various forms of recreation and tourism have been described, which – according to the authors – are increasingly in need on today’s market. Forms of recreation, as presented here, are very popular and include Nordic walking, sailing with its variants, skiing, dancing, aerobics and aqua fitness. As for tourism, it is becoming increasingly popular among children and adolescents. Tour operators modify classic programs of youth camps to meet the needs of young customers. Tourism of people with disabilities is also growing nowadays, as well as of single people/ singles, health tourism(including: spa and wellness, medical), shopping, space, sexual tourism, and others. New and more interesting offers will probably appear on the market of recreation and tourism. This is, among others, due to continuing changes in lifestyle and desire to learn new experiences and yet undiscovered sites or types of physical activity.Nieustannie poszukuje się nowych rozwiązań w sferze rekreacji i turystyki tak, aby dopasować je do potrzeb i oczekiwań współczesnego człowieka. Do najczęściej wymienianych czynników kształtujących nowe trendy w rekreacji i turystyce należą: czynniki demograficzne, czynniki ekonomiczne, styl i jakość życia, świadomość i edukacja, rozwój techniki, szybkość zastosowań nowych innowacji oraz globalizacja (w tym konsumpcjonizm). W niniejszej publikacji dokonano charakterystyki różnych form rekreacji i turystyki, które – zdaniem Autorów – są coraz częściej pożądane na współczesnym rynku usług. Przedstawione formy rekreacyjne, które cieszą się dużym zainteresowaniem to m.in. nordic walking, żeglarstwo wraz z jego odmianami, narciarstwo, taniec, aerobik, aqua fitness. Jeśli zaś chodzi o turystykę, to coraz popularniejsza staje się turystyka dzieci i młodzieży. Touroperatorzy modyfikują klasyczne programy kolonii czy obozów, by sprostać wymaganiom młodych klientów. Oprócz tego coraz powszechniejszą staje się turystyka osób z niepełnosprawnością, osób samotnych/„singli”, zdrowotna (w tym: SPA i wellness, medyczna), zakupowa, kosmiczna, seksualna i inne. Na rynku usług rekreacyjno-turystycznym będą pojawiać się coraz to nowsze, ciekawsze oferty. Jest to spowodowane m.in. ciągłymi zmianami w stylu życia i chęcią poznania nowych przeżyć oraz nieodkrytych jak dotąd miejsc czy rodzajów aktywności fizycznej