Abstract

Health tourism occurs when people around the world travel across international borders to access various health and wellness treatment and at the same time touring the country they are visiting. It is one of the growing industries in South Africa, as people are constantly coming to South Africa in search of health care services. Health tourism is imperative for economic growth and development and has recently assumed the status of one of the most important contributors to employment, infrastructural and services development, and generating an economic return. Due to these significant contributions, it is vital to have sustainable health care services in countries attracting health tourists. Making use of the traditional literature method, this paper presents an overview of health tourism, the importance of healthcare in South Africa, discussing the sustainability issues faced by health care providers and the impact thereof to health tourism. More importantly, we drew lessons from the three overlapping circle model as well as the four capital model. to further the discussion on sustainable strategies for health tourism NPOs.