ABSTRACT
Purpose: This paper explores medical tourism development challenges in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) pre- and during Covid-19. Medical tourism is becoming a dynamic, rapid growth area and an engine of economic development. Design/methodology/approach: In-depth interviews were conducted with medical tourism professionals. Fourteen medical tourism stakeholders were interviewed from 1 January to 31 January 2020. Qualitative thematic analysis was applied on medical tourism challenges before and during the pandemic. Findings: The major themes indicated concerns for medical tourism in the UAE and they included higher medical services costs and a shortage of highly qualified medical expertise. The emerging themes related to the challenges of coping with Covid-19 and strategies to attract medical tourists. Originality/value: This study contributes towards (1) the theory of medical tourism, (2) the related limited prior published work on this topic relating to the UAE and (3) the importance of medical tourism in today's tourism industry. Additionally, there are theoretical and practical implications for medical tourism stakeholders in terms of attracting inbound medical tourists to the UAE from other countries during the Covid-19 crisis and in the post-pandemic situation. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.
ABSTRACT
Online internet-based education and virtual teaching and learning have been forced upon the world due to coronavirus global pandemic healthcare crisis. Various internet and communication technology-assisted virtual delivery platforms are used, such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Hangouts, Skype, etc., to conduct lectures, tutorials, workshops, and provide online support to students. The main objective of this chapter is to reflect and compare the teaching and learning strategies in normal situation in contrast with the practice during COVID-19 environment. The chapter formalises an analysis of the challenges faced by lecturers in teaching and delivering first-year economics unit to the students, at the two institutions, and its impact on their learning of the economics core unit offered at the undergraduate Bachelor of Business program.
ABSTRACT
The aim of this paper is to analyse the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on religious tourism in the Kartarpur Gurdwara Corridor between the Punjab States of Pakistan and India. The corridor was opened as a peace building initiative 72 years after the partition of India-Pakistan. In November 2019, thousands of Sikh pilgrims visited Kartarpur and Nankana Sahib in Punjab to celebrate the 550th birth anniversary of the founder of the Sikh religion Guru Nanakji, where he spent last 19 years of his life. The Government of Pakistan invested heavily to build the infrastructure facilities for connecting both borders for religious tourism. The two phases of development of Kartarpur created economic opportunities for the growth of bilateral trade, religious tourism, diplomacy, and peaceful relationships. However, the COVID-19 based travel lockdown caused devastating economic impacts on the Kartarpur religious tourism site and related businesses just four months after its opening. This paper highlights the importance of Kartarpur religious tourism and the devastating economic impact from COVID-19 on the niche spiritual tourism-based economy, employment, marketing, and peace associated with Kartarpur. Qualitative content analysis was adopted using quotes from internet sources to reach findings. Some opportunities are highlighted for a better understanding of global health issues, unified efforts to fight the pandemic and mutual support for spiritual tourism development among Indians and Pakistanis. Policy implications suggest that post-COVID-19, public-private partnership is needed to cooperatively plan, develop, and promote religious tourism, build awareness, and cooperate for common resource management for economic benefits. COVID-19 could be a cooperative stimulus for peaceful change through bilateral trade, travel, and tourism plans, based on responsible cross-border tourism for India and Pakistan;to create a mutually beneficial South-Asian economic success story. © 2022 Dublin Institute of Technology. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The main aim of embracing evolutionary digital e-health technologies such as 'My Health Records' is to transform and empower the patients to control their health records, access, choose the right healthcare provider and suitable treatment, when required. It has been a challenge for the healthcare practitioners, hospital staff, as well as patients to accept, embrace, and adopt transformative digital e-health technologies and manage their healthcare records amidst concerns of slow adoption by the patient due to data privacy and cybersecurity issues. Australia, since COVID-19, has stressed the importance of secure online connectivity for the government, business, and the consumers. It is essential that My Health Record platform is cyber-safe, and user-friendly so that consumers feel conformable, safe and secure regarding their personal health records. This chapter discussed the challenges of embracing e-health digital technologies and assurance of advancing cybersecurity of online My Health Record, which will transform e-health provision and empower patients and healthcare providers. © 2021 by IGI Global. All rights reserved.