03/16/2012 | By: Guest Contributor
Seeking a self-enhancement treatment for a good cause? Take a green getaway today to some of the world’s eco-friendly, medical tourist destinations.
Ecotourism is an effective form of travel to sustain the environment, to enrich personal experience and to promote greater understanding and appreciation for nature.
With the growing concerns of the effects of air travel on the environment, many environment-conscious medical travelers are following the trend of eco-medical travel to help improve their well-being, while improving the planet.
Taking a more thoughtful approach to traveling for health care, numerous medical tourists in search of affordable, quality health care abroad are choosing eco-tourist destinations where they can enhance the bio-cultural diversity and protect the natural and cultural heritage of our planet.
When traveling overseas for health care, there are easy-to-do actions to limit the negative impact on environment.
1- If possible, travel on a local ferry instead of a luxury cruise ship. Carbon neutral is an increasingly popular trend in the travel industry that aims to neutralize the carbon emissions from air flights. Many flight booking websites, such as Expedia, are offering travelers the option to fly green. Travelers can choose to fly green with Terrapass, one of the leading travel carbon-offsetting companies.
2- Use eco-friendly transport, such as the green buses and trains and avoid renting a car to reduce gas emissions. Depending on your type of treatment, you can walk or bike wherever possible to lessen pollution and boost your fitness. Unlike intrusive surgical treatments, dental procedures abroad have less recovery downtime-- which will allow you to rely less on vehicles and enhance your mobility.
2- When staying at a hotel, you couldn’t be bothered with turning off the lights, TV or air conditioning; since you are not paying the hotel utility bills. Make sure before you leave your room to turn off the air conditioning, lights and television.
3-Dine in locally-owned restaurants or purchase local foods at outdoor markets to reduce your reliance on imported goods. Always carry a reusable water bottle, plastic bags and food containers to save leftovers. Leave no trace behind!
4-When you are going camping; make sure you camp on sturdy, durable surfaces, such as rock, snow and dry grasses. Don’t burn plastic, metal or woods. If you will use an outdoor grill, dispose them in designated areas.
Top Eco-Friendly, Medical Tourist Destinations:
It is not a coincidence (maybe it is) that medical tourist destinations happen to be eco-friendly, as well.
Costa Rica:
Popular Medical treatments: Costa Rica is undoubtedly a state-of-the-art medical tourism hub in Latin America and a major ecotourism destination, offering affordable health care options and a world of lush forests, cascading waterfalls and unspoiled natural environment.
Plastic surgery in Costa Rica is a thriving industry boasting a wide range of aesthetic and reconstructive treatments, including breast implants, tummy tuck, liposuction, facelift and nose surgery.
Eco Sites: Costa Rica Eco Lodge at Corcovado. The design of Costa Rica Eco Lodge at Corcovado is designed to maintain this unique eco-resort by employing sustainable practices to reduce environment impacts, while considering social responsibilities and conserving local cultural values.
All activities and facilities available at Costa Rica Lodge at Corcovade are specifically designed to consider the environment and offer an outlet for travelers to appreciate nature.
Cyprus:
Britons mostly occupy the sandy shores of this magnificent Mediterranean island, and Cyprus still retains some of the world’s best preserved mountain villages, farm lands and scenic landscapes.
Popular Medical treatments: When it comes to medical tourism in Cyprus, many patients find the island a viable option for fertility treatments, due to the relaxed IVF laws, affordable health care facilities and the high quality care medical institutions offer. Egg donation in Cyprus is one of the most sought-after fertility treatments in Europe, attracting hordes of couples from Western Europe and the US.
Eco Sites: Save Cyprus project provides travelers the chance to contribute to the economic income of villagers and help regenerate their communities. You can take a “Save Cyprus” trip by booking though the main tour operators in Cyprus that will organize your itinerary to Troodos Mountains, renowned for its fascinating geology and the presence of unspoiled specimens of ophiolite.
Brazil:
Brazil is the ultimate beach vacation and the “it” spot to have a world-class body surgery. It is not surprising when “Brazilian Butt-lift” is an actual scientific term for a body surgical procedure designed to enhance the appearance of a woman’s butt and achieve the perfect curves.
Popular Medical treatments: Plastic surgery in Brazil is renowned for their high quality of medical services and affordable prices. Brazilian plastic surgery clinics boast an extensive array of body surgical treatments to enhance women’s contours and improve the overall appearance of their figure.
Eco Sites: Brazil is a place where nature is wild and river flows rowdily. The best way to experience Brazil’s environment sites is to canoe its gushing rivers or get close and personal with 60 mammals and 380 bird species. Now, that’s a wild ride!
Dubai:
It may seem rather bizarre to consider Dubai an eco-friendly destination, given its crammed glossy skyline and glass and steel construction complexes. Dubai still has so much more to offer eco-travelers with its dazzling sand dunes and serene desert campsites.
The growing urban infrastructure in Dubai is the perfect testament for the successful business of plastic surgery in the UAE.
Dubai, once a bag of sand, was magically transformed into a luxury haven filled with lush malls and shopping centers, luxury lodges and exquisite entertainment faculties.
Popular Medical treatments: Dubai affords the highest plastic surgery quality in the Middle East for the lowest cost. Tummy tuck in Dubai is one of the most requested body procedures by patients looking to get rid of their excess skin and fat around their abdomen area after a weight-loss surgery.
Facelift in Dubai is also high in demand particularly among the Lebanese expats living the UAE.
Eco Sites: The first national park in the Emirates was created to protect one of the rarest animals in the world: the Arabian oryx.
Al Maha Desert Resort and Spa is Dubai desert conservation reserve, introducing an intriguing concept of combining luxury with eco-friendly facilities. This eco-luxury lodge has 40 elegantly appointed rooms decorated in Bedouin style camps. Al Maha Desert Resort manages to recycle 100 percent of its water, and grows a seed bank of 6,000 trees, shrubs and grass.
India: Incredible India is a true mystical marvel tucked in south eastern Asia, offering fascinating wild life, untouched forests and legendary ecological recourses.
Popular Medical treatments: IVF in India is a growing medical branch that attracts many patients from Australia, the US and Europe to take advantage of the advanced assisted reproductive technology Indian fertility clinics are offering.
India’s surrogacy and IVF laws are appealing to many patients having difficulty finding a surrogate mother and couples baffled by the complexities of their country’s surrogacy laws.
IVF clinics in India are indiscriminately catering to all individuals and couples who dream of having a family including same-sex couples and singles.
Surrogacy in India allows the surrogate mother to grant her full rights to the baby as soon as she gives birth. Commercial surrogacy is also legal in India, which caters to a large number of intended parents from US and Europe.
Eco sites: Eco sites can be found in almost all regions of India, from the Monasteries and Himalayan glaciers of Ladakh in Northern part, coffee plantation, Kerla backwater, Thar Desert, to Kanchenjunga.
Thailand:
Also a product of mass tourism machine, Thailand fell victim to carless tourists who are blinded by its mesmerizing natural beauty. That doesn’t mean that Thailand is not an eco-friendly destination: the country encompasses a large number of eco resorts that are not only constructed out of natural materials but also nestled alongside pristine forests, plantations and rivers.
Popular Medical treatments: Beauty is highly appreciated in Thailand-- and in your pursuit for beauty, you will be met with state-of-the-art plastic surgery clinics that apply the most eco-friendly methods at a very affordable cost.
The biggest advantage for patients who are traveling for plastic surgery in Thailand is the costs. Plastic surgery costs in Thailand are much less compared to other parts of the world.
Eco Sites: Wildlife Fund Thailand have created more awareness about the dangers of killing exotic animals and utilizing them to manufacture products made from turtle shells, ivory, or leopard’s teeth.
To stay true to your eco-friendly excursion in Thailand, boycott any restaurants that specialize in “jungle cuisine,” such as bird’s nest soup or anything made from the meat of endangered animals.
Traveling for health care is today’s most growing trend and has become more of a need than a luxury. The more number of medical tourists pouring in, the more our environment becomes at risk.
Traveling green for health care will help you save the environment while saving on your treatment.
