Gender-Specific Trends in Medical Tourism: Health-Cultural Hospitality, Wellness, Aesthetics, and Policy Within the X.0 Wave Framework

Dear Colleagues,

Medical tourism is a rapidly growing sector integrating healthcare, hospitality, wellness, and aesthetic services. Gender differences significantly shape patient motivations, expectations, and satisfaction. Women often seek medical interventions for quality of life, aesthetics, and social reasons, whereas men prioritise health and functional outcomes.

This Special Issue explores gender-specific trends in medical tourism by integrating healthcare, wellness, hospitality, and policy perspectives. Using the X.0 Wave Framework, we contextualise societal and technological transformations and provide a holistic understanding of how cultural paradigms, gender dynamics, and social transformations shape medical tourism experiences. Contributions are invited on the following topics:

• Gender-sensitive approaches in health, wellness, and aesthetic tourism;
• Integration of clinical healthcare and hospitality services;
• Cultural and policy frameworks in medical tourism;
• AI-driven personalization in wellness and aesthetic programmes;
• Sustainable and inclusive models addressing gender and cultural diversity;
• Explore the implications of recent developments, such as the LipLeg study and the Government decision, on women’s access to treatment, health equity, and patient mobility;
• Examining the role of national health authorities in determining which medical services are covered by public insurance and setting guidelines for patient care;
• Examining the connection of the topic with interdisciplinary approaches and comprehensive analytical frameworks that capture technological, social, and institutional transformations in healthcare and medical tourism;
• Examining the connection of the topic with interdisciplinary approaches and the X.0 Wave Theory as a comprehensive analytical framework that captures technological, social, and institutional transformations in healthcare and medical tourism.

The goal is to offer actionable insights for policymakers, tourism operators, and service designers to optimise patient experiences, improve wellness outcomes, and foster inclusive, culturally sensitive services.

Prof. Dr. Hamid Mattiello
Prof. Dr. Atilla Akbaba
Dr. Diana Mattiello
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Tourism and Hospitality is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• gender medicine
• medical tourism
• health–cultural hospitality
• wellness
• aesthetics
• policy
• X.0 wave framework
• cultural exposure
• inter-system collaboration
• personalised healthcare