Potential of Health Tourism Development in Nepal: Literature Review and Future View

Traveling for health and wellness is one of the most important tourist patterns of economic returns generated by the tourism industry, tourist destinations, and the health sector. The paper studies the potential of health tourism development in Nepal. Health tourism in Nepal especially based on natural healing resources that are mostly combined with the medical, preventive and wellness programs. They are not being used well enough, even though they are the key factor in positioning Nepal as a recognizable health tourism destination, which can generate economic growth and income. On the other hand, the trends in the world tourism predict further growth of health tourism, mostly due to the changes in people’s lifestyle. Although health tourism, a burgeoning and lucrative tourism market, has gained, increased attention in recent years, particularly in developing countries, only a few academic studies of the sector have been published. Given the scarcity of academic literature in this area, the aim of the present study is to offer a comprehensive theoretical framework for future research. Yoga, Ayurveda, meditation, and natural healing-based tourism are a new form of niche tourism, which has been rapidly growing in recent years.

Keywords: Health Tourism, Wellness, Tourism Development, Potential, Nepal