Turystyka medyczna – istota, zakres i konsekwencje rozwoju zjawiska

The constant global socio-economic development and the process of population aging in Western countries result in more and more people travelling abroad in order to improve their health. Health tourism is developing, which, apart from spa tourism or wellness tourism, includes also medical tourism. However, a problem arises whether medical tourism is a form of tourism constituting a natural and positive consequence of social processes or rather a negative phenomenon. The purpose of the article is an attempt to answer this question. The paper defines medical tourism and presents an analysis of the phenomenon itself, factors affecting its popularisation, people who participate in it, and the positive and negative consequences of its development. The effects of medical tourism development can be divided into macroeconomic ones, those related to the countries of tourists emission and reception, microeconomic ones, i.e. referring to companies (both tourist companies and medical service providers), and the effects on people who practice this type of tourism. The publication is an overview; mainly foreign literature was included.