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Keen for a holiday? Want a new look? Got bad teeth? These seemingly unrelated questions are being answered by a new type of travel: cosmetic surgery and dental tourism.
More and more people are avoiding prohibitively expensive cosmetic surgery costs or dental bills by heading to far-flung destinations and seeking out the treatment there.
And tourism operators have sprung up to hold the hands of those opting for overseas treatment.
As Roy Watson, director of Absolutely Thailand Dental Makeover Vacations puts it, this type of service takes the worry out of travelling to an unfamiliar country and deciding which health provider to go to.
"We look after the client from the moment they get off the plane until the moment they fly out again," he says.
Watson runs dental trips to Chiangmai in Thailand.
"As a guide, the dental costs there are about a quarter to a third of the price they are in New Zealand. The clinics are of the very highest standard and have the ISO international quality standard certification, so any concerns of patients about substandard care are alleviated."
Watson started the business when he was quoted a total of $28,000 to have a large amount of work done on his teeth, and opted instead to look for the treatment in his wife's native Thailand.
"It is costing about $7000 to have the work done there," he says.
Watson believes the "break even" point for those thinking about having treatment in Thailand is about $6000. "For that amount, a client can have the treatment done in Thailand and enjoy a ten-day holiday for about the same price," he says.
Watson's business arranges travel, transfers, accommodation, transfers to the dental surgery, a welcome to Chiangmai dinner, familiarisation tours of the city, and an initial one-hour consultation with the dental clinicians followed by a suggested treatment report. All further dental costs are met by the client.
Heather Gooch started Beauty Renaissance two years ago after travelling to Buenos Aires for a cosmetic surgery procedure. Now she brings groups from New Zealand looking to save big money on what can be very expensive surgery.
"A facelift in New Zealand can cost up to $40,000. In South America it will cost in the region of $12,000 including airfares and accommodation for 12 days.
"Buenos Aires is a really great place to recuperate after surgery too."
Recovery times after a procedure is usually 12 days, and more than one surgical procedure can require a stay of anything up to a month.
Gooch believes the South American surgeons are among the best practitioners in the world.
"It has become one of the most popular destinations for cosmetic tourism," she says.
The most common procedures that New Zealand women have performed in Argentina are breast augmentations, face lifts, tummy tucks and liposuction.
"A tummy tuck can cost between $15,000 and $20,000 in New Zealand, and in Buenos Aires it will cost $8000 to $10,000."
Like Watson's business, Beauty Renaissance look after everything from the day clients arrive until they are safely delivered back on to the plane home.
They offer 24-hour care from both the Beauty Renaissance team in Buenos Aires and the private hospital where the procedures are carried out.
"Take into account the opportunity to travel abroad and enjoy the most European city in South America, with passion and entertainment to rival any major city in the world, and you have a substantial package," says Gooch.
