Medical Tourism: The Islamic Perspective

Abstract

Islamic medical tourism is defined as a short-term journey of individuals to destinations, outside their usual environment, primarily seeking health benefits at hospitals that practice Islamic principles in the delivery of their health services. With the growing market demand worldwide, hospitals around the world are increasingly equipping themselves to serve Muslim tourists who have specific needs and requirements. Providers of Islamic medical tourism are required to have a sound understanding ofIslamic medical service components to ensure the satisfaction of patients who come fromdifferent nations. The main purpose of this chapter is to search the predominant medicaltourism-related aspects of the Islamic perspective that will contribute to the niche market of Islamic medical tourism industry in the local and global process. This study employs a search method and synthesizes the relevant literature in the discipline of medical tourism services and highlight that Islamic medical tourism is a promising tourism concept with huge business prospects. This chapter explores the concepts, development, and challenges of Islamic medical tourism services, and finds that its development depends on good infrastructure, environment, technology, investment and marketing strategy. The study proposes some strategies, policy and managerial recommendations for the provision of Islamic medical tourism.