Global tourism is roaring back after the pandemic
Most regions are close to or have surpassed prepandemic tourism arrivals
Medical tourist death prompts UK government to seek improved regulations
The UK and Turkey will discuss better safety standards
The British government said it would meet with its Turkish counterparts to discuss medical tourism regulations after a series of deaths involving British citi�ens who sought care in Turkey , the BBC reported last November .
The need for talks was sparked by the unfortunate case of �elissa �err , a ��-year-old woman who died in Istanbul in ���� after undergoing Bra�ilian butt-lift surgery , a cosmetic procedure that involves in�ecting the patient ’ s fat into the buttocks and can have a higher mortality rate than other cosmetic procedures .
�ight other British patients have also died in Turkey after weight-loss procedures , according to the BBC , while coroner �ac�ueline �ake said �err had not received accurate information to make an informed decision . This is contested by the clinic where she had the surgery , which said that ��err signed several consent forms confirming she understood the risks . �
The reason the procedure can be deadly is due to the risk that in�ected fat can enter the blood stream through the buttocks which are full of blood vessels . If that happens , ma�or vessels can be clogged , leading to death .
After a four-year moratorium on performing the procedure in order to collect evidence about its risks , the British Association of Aesthetic �lastic Surgeons announced that the surgery could be safely carried out only if the in�ection was done in the area under the skin , while an intraoperative ultrasound would also need to be used to visualise tissues and ensure fat didn ’ t reach the muscle layer .
British Health minister �aria Caulfield told the BBC that regulatory standards in other countries might not match those in the �� but that �such transparency and standardisation are important to reduce potential risks to patients . �
International tourism was on track to reach almost its pre-pandemic levels , the �orld Tourism �rgani�ation ( �N�T� ) said in November , adding that about ��� million tourists travelled around the world between �anuary and September ���� , a �� percent surge compared to the same period in ���� .
Similarly , the latest data show that international tourist arrivals reached �� percent of pre-pandemic levels in �uly , the best month since the pandemic , while tourism overall recovered �� percent of prepandemic levels in �anuary through September .
�The latest �N�T� data shows that international tourism has almost completely recovered from the unprecedented crisis of C��I�-�� with many destinations reaching or even e�ceeding pre-pandemic arrivals and receipts . This is critical for destinations , businesses , and communities where the sector is a ma�or lifeline , � �N�T� Secretary-General �urab �ololikashvili said in a press release .
The recovery was driven by the �iddle �ast , Africa , and �urope . The �iddle �ast was the best performing region , with arrivals already �� percent higher than before the pandemic in the first nine months of ���� , making it the only region to outperform ���� numbers . �urope received the highest number of travellers , with ��� million tourists or �� percent of the global total choosing �uropean countries for their holidays . Africa managed to recover �� percent of the tourists who travelled there before the pandemic broke out .
The Asia and �acific region only recorded a �� percent recovery due to its slower reopening to international travel but with significant variations . South Asia , for e�ample , welcomed �� percent of its pre-pandemic travellers , while Northeast Asia saw only about �� percent .
GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com ISSUE 6 | 2023
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