DNA India - Daily News and Analysis - 08 Nov 2008
Special travel packages offering facelifts and the like seem to be gaining popularity around the world.
Countries with advanced technologies for cosmetic surgeries are playing host to a new breed of tourists who plan their itinerary so as to include a facelift or a tummy tuck in the midst of sightseeing.
Let’s face it, going abroad to get some work done to your body is actually quite common, but what is unusual is that tour agents are now offering special packages for ‘enhancements’ while on a vacation. The new phenomenon is termed as ‘medical or vanity’ tourism.
Dr Mohan Thomas sets the record straight for us: “Let’s not refer to it as cosmetic surgery and use the term ‘image enhancement’ instead, because that’s what it really is.”
Dr Thomas returned to India in 2001 to start the Indian Society of Cosmetic Surgery. Since he has been here, he has noted about a 500 per cent rise in the number of surgeries taking place in India alone. “People are very conscious of how they look and are willing to explore more options these days,” he adds.
A quick search online gives you a surprising number of tour agents that offer you short or extended trips to various parts of the world. Brazil, with the highest number of cosmetic enhancements performed every year, is the number one destination on most lists.
Tamara Zdinakova, managing director of beautyinprague.com, a website that directs extremely niche clientele across the world toward leading clinics in Prague says, “Although we focus mainly on our UK and Irish clients, we cater to people from around the world.” In 2008 alone, and till date, she has received a little over 250 confirmed bookings for various packages to Prague.
She adds, “We cooperate only with certified clinics in Prague, which we have chosen due to their high standards of hygiene, MRSA rate, fully qualified and registered plastic surgeons with at least 15 years of experience.” As with most clinics around the world, her business survives on word of mouth. She says, “Our clients are happy with their results and their referrals bring in additional patients. In fact, by 2009 we are expecting a 30 per cent increase in our client list.”
While booking your vacation online through some of these websites, most conduct an online exchange, a sort of consultation with a surgeon to determine suitability of the patient before the bookings are confirmed.
What next, you may ask?
Written by Shanaya Lalkaka (November 08, 2008)
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