POSSIBILITIES OF PLANNING AND DEVELOPING MEDICAL TOURISM IN THE CITY OF DAMT, YEMEN

Abstract

The city of Damt is the home of the natural hot sulfur baths and limestone craters in Yemen. It faces many problems that limit the advancement of medical tourism in it, as it is exposed to the excessive depletion of its hot springs, the low level of tourism services and facilities, the random urban growth, and the lack of a vision among decision makers to benefit economically from its components. Therefore, the study aimed to propose a strategic vision for planning and developing medical tourism in Damt and reorganizing and rehabilitating the sites of natural baths, the most important source of medical tourism in them to contribute to its development. The study has reached several results, the most important of which are: The balanced therapeutic tourism development management in the city of Damt enables it to sustain its therapeutic resources and effectively contribute to improving the efficiency of using the waters of its hot springs, preserving and rehabilitating it by establishing integrated therapeutic tourism resorts to meet the demand for natural treatment with its hot waters. Which will reflect positively on the development of its economy, and make it the first destination for medical tourism in Yemen and the region.