Latinos for National Health Insurance, Washington, DC.
Signs (Chic). 2011;36(2):289-96. doi: 10.1086/655908.
Although travel for medical reasons has a long history, it has more recently evolved from a cottage industry to a worldwide enterprise. A number of countries are positioning themselves to attract visitors who are willing to travel to obtain health services that are more accessible, less expensive, or more available than in their countries of origin. This has in turn given rise to medical packages that combine tourism with health. Several Caribbean nations - including Cuba, Barbados, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico - hope to expand their revenues in this new market. Each country has selected specific service niches and promotes its services accordingly. While Cuba has been promoting its services to other countries for several decades, medical tourism is just beginning in the other islands. Ultimately, these nations' economic success will hinge on their comparative advantage vis-à-vis other options, while their success in terms of improving their own health care depends on the extent to which the services for tourists are also available to the islands' populations.
尽管出于医疗原因而旅行的历史由来已久，但最近它已经从一个小型产业发展成为一个全球性的企业。许多国家正在定位自己，以吸引那些愿意旅行以获得更便捷、更便宜或更易得的医疗服务的游客。这反过来又催生了将旅游与健康相结合的医疗套餐。一些加勒比国家——包括古巴、巴巴多斯、牙买加和波多黎各——希望在这个新市场扩大收入。每个国家都选择了特定的服务领域，并相应地推广其服务。虽然古巴几十年来一直在向其他国家推广其服务，但在其他岛屿，医疗旅游才刚刚开始。最终，这些国家的经济成功将取决于它们相对于其他选择的比较优势，而它们在改善自身医疗保健方面的成功程度则取决于游客服务在多大程度上也可供岛屿居民使用。
