Wellness Update: Europe: Germans and Russians are much keener to take health vacations than their European neighbours

Staying healthy is increasingly important when on holiday in Europe: "Germans and Russians are much keener to take health vacations than their European neighbours. The German market for health vacations abroad is approximately six times the size of Russia’s, but with German citizens medical tourism accounts for only 22 % more. The French market is the third largest for foreign health trips, while The Netherlands is the third largest for medical tourism abroad.

Among German citizens the most popular foreign destination for health trips is Spain, followed by Italy and Austria. The countries most visited for medical reasons are Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. In Europe as a whole, the most popular countries for health trips are Spain, Italy and Austria, while Hungary, Germany and the Czech Republic are the leading destinations for medical tourism.

According to the survey, socio-demographics also play a part. At an average age of 48, Europeans taking health vacations are younger than people travelling for medical reasons, who are 53. German travellers in both categories are older than the European average. People taking health vacations are 52 and those travelling for medical reasons are 61. Women prefer to travel for medical reasons rather than take health vacations. However they outnumber their male counterparts in both categories."