b'Flight for BeautyIn theDominicanRepubliccalledtoothtourismgrewquickly, 2021, wasatrendingtopicforwithAmericanstravelingtoCentral manyweeksonthesocialAmericancountrieslikeCostaRica mediaplatform,Twitter,asfor dental bridges and caps not covered usersdiscussedthewaveofbytheirinsurance.Asthepopularity individuals(mostlywomen)headingtotheoftravelfordentalprocedures CaribbeanIsland.TheDominicanRepublicisntgrew,othersurgeryopportunities anewvacationdestination;itsoneofthemostgained steam. popular destinations for medical tourism.Medical tourism became essential in the Medical tourism is when a person travels to anotherLGBTQIA+community,astransgender country for medical care. Each year, millions of U.S.menandwomentraveledforgender residents participate in medical tourism, headingreassignment surgeries. In the 1980s and to Mexico and Canada and countries in Central1990s,genderreassignmentsurgeries America,SouthAmerica,andtheCaribbean.were expensive and there were not a lot of Typically, people travel for one of two reasons: AAmerican doctors willing to perform the lower-cost surgery option or to obtain a proceduresurgery. However, after Thailands currency unavailable or unapproved in the persons homecollapsed in 1997, the government directed country. Patients mostly travel to the developingits tourism officials to market the country world for dental care and cosmetic surgeries, andasahotdestinationforplasticsurgery, to the developed countries for cancer treatments,hoping to boost revenues. Thailand quickly stem cells and other life-saving care. became the go-to country for comparatively inexpensivesex-changeoperations,where The medical tourism industry has exploded sincepatients faced fees as low as $5,000 and looser the late 1980s, as plastic surgery procedures becamerequirementsforpre-surgerypsychological more popular. Experts in the field say 150,000 U.S.counseling.citizensunderwentmedicaltreatmentabroadin 2006the majority in Asia and Latin America.Withtechnologyandsurgicaladvancements That number grew to about 750,000 in 2007 andaroundtheworld,itbecameeasiertofind topped over 6 million in 2010.surgeons in other countries willing and able to performprocedures.Individualsinsearchof Peoplehavebeentravelingforcenturiesinthecosmetic treatments can easily locate the doctor name of health; however, the concept of travelingor clinics which will perform their surgery, and toanothercountryformedicalprocedurescompanies have emerged to connect consumers isnew.Ashealthcostsroseinthe1980sandtotheinternationalsurgeonoftheirdreams. 1990s,patientslookingforaffordablemedicalThese medical travel agents consult with potential servicesconsideredtheiroptionsoffshore.So- patients,narrowingdownthedoctor,location, 12'