FACTORS OF POST-COVID RECOVERY OF THE INTERNATIONAL HEALTH & MEDICAL TOURISM (HMT): TERRITORIAL POTENTIAL VS STATE SUPPORT EFFICIENCY

Abstract

To analyze the dependence between the dynamics of post-COVID recovery of the Health & Medical Tourism (HMT) from the factors of a territorial destination positioning and efficiency of the state support measures in the sector, and on the basis of such an analysis to offer the new principles of anti-crisis sectoral strategizing under the current conditions. The study is based on the application results of several international methodologies of the HMT potential assessment in the selected countries of the world as well as the results concerning the efficiency of state support measures under current conditions. A comparative analysis of the obtained results with the actual dynamics of HMT recovery (as per the statistics of the international tourism-related organizations) has been carried out. Forecasting tools are considered within the frameworks of crisis typology for the world tourism industry overall and for HMT in particular. Determining dynamics of the tourism sector recovery is proven here, primarily through the efficiency measures of state support. On these grounds, new principles of national strategizing of HMT are outlined, taking into account probability degrees of the three types of sectoral recovery during the post-COVID period. Key directions of state support for health and medical tourism are offered by the authors, taking into consideration high probability of the W-shaped scenario of recovery as well as tools of state promotion of HMT development which take into account the interests of local population in the recipient regions along with those of foreign visitors.

Keywords

• health & medical tourism (hmt)
• pandemic
• state support
• sectoral recovery