The Ozarks and the Ouachita mountains of Arkansas are some of the most beautiful regions of our state, and attracting many of the tourists we welcome for several different reasons.

In more recent years, more and more visitors are including the search for healing as part of the intention of their trip to the Natural State.

In Europe, the earliest forms of health tourism - visiting mineral or hot springs - dates back to the Neolithic and Bronze ages. Legend says that Bath, England was founded by the father of King Lear, in 863 BC.

By the Middle Ages, belief in the curative powers of thermal or hot springs was firmly established. In the 16th Century, Ponce de Leon brought the concept to the New World when he traveled to Florida in search of the fountain of youth. In the 1700s and 1800s, "taking the waters" at spa towns was popular with the upper crust on both sides of the Atlantic. By the late 19th Century, the emerging urban middle class sought the healthful benefits of fresh sea or mountain air as an antidote to the overcrowding and pollution created by industrialization.

In the United States, Native American tribes near Eureka Springs, Arkansas believed that the spring water there could cure many ailments, and that the surrounding land was sacred. Later, as stories about the healing springs spread, European settlers flocked to the area. More than 60 springs were eventually discovered, with each known for healing a different part of the body. After the town was incorporated in 1879, Eureka Springs became a top destination for health-seekers.

Although belief in the healing waters declined around the 1930s, Eureka Springs was discovered anew, and in more recent times its original traditions of sacred space, health and trade are alive and well. Visitors still gather by some of the old springs, sharing stories and healing their spirit in this unique location. The Crescent Hotel’s New Moon Day Spa is one of many spas and holistic sites sought out by tourists and visitors.

Mountain Home is a lesser-known place that residents and visitors travel to for healing. It is located near both Bull Shoals Lake, and on the White River, both much sought-after sources for peace and quiet, as well as for water-related sports. Alternative healing practitioners there have banded together, including acupuncturists, chiropractors, massage therapists, a naprapathy practitioner, nutritionists, and others to create a website directory of the area’s healers. One practitioner even offers a turn-key experience, allowing the ailing to stay over as long as necessary while chiropractic, nutritional and other treatments are offered.

Of course, there is also the very popular destination of Hot Springs, with its legendary healing waters and its world-renowned quartz crystals. Native Americans came to the "Valley of the Vapors" as a place for rejuvenation. Quapaws, Caddos and Osage attributed therapeutic properties to the hot spring water, considering it neutral ground, and open to all who came in peace. Hot Springs opened its first bathhouse in 1830, and in 1832, the United States government assumed ownership and eventually turned the downtown area into a national park. Developed as a European style spa in 1875, Hot Springs experienced a boom during the 1920’s when people from all over the world sought relief from various health problems by drinking or bathing in the hot mineral water. Indeed, Hot Springs is considered to be the birthplace of the current popularity of spa destinations. Today the Buckstaff Bath House, Turtle Cove Spa, and other locations in the region remain popular tourist attractions where visitors come for relaxation and a therapeutic experience.

Crystals are another facet of the healing methods used in the Hot Springs area. The crystals found near the Ouachita Mountains were formed from trapped seawater, buried tens of thousands of feet underground. This ancient brine contained less dissolved minerals than rock melted by volcanic sources, thus creating some of the purest crystals available. In fact, he National Bureau of Standards even uses samples from Arkansas to judge the chemical purity of quartz worldwide!

Arkansas’s quartz crystals are used in forms of energy healing, or crystal healing. One of those who practice this art in Arkansas is a man who calls himself Mika, and who offers regular trainings in crystal healing, as well as individual healing treatments. Others who use this form of energy therapy include individuals connected with the Hot Springs Yoga Studio and Golden Leaves Bookstore.

There are also indications that residents and tourists who are traveling in Arkansas are seeking more remote areas for both recreational and spiritual retreats. One example of this trend is referred to in an article written by Anita Tucker of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Ms. Tucker’s fascinating article describes an herbal healer in the Clinton area named Lallah Lee Ostegren. Lallah Lee journeyed to the Ozarks to find a place to heal herself more than 30 years ago. She was raised knowing about some of the herbal healing arts, with her grandmother using comfrey to heal wounds, among other treatments. This knowledge, along with much more, would come in handy as time went on.

After settling into a cabin near Clinton, Lallah began to eat more natural foods like corn bread made from meal she ground herself. Within a few weeks, she started noticing significant and positive changes in her health, including freedom from kidney failure, edema, and heart problems.

Telephone calls now come in from across the country from people who "knew somebody who knew somebody who had heard about me." They ask for help with their allergies, illnesses, migraines, pain, and fatigue. She takes no money for her advice, as she promised God that if he would help heal her, she would share with all. Her advice is basically the same for whatever the ailment. She promotes raw fruits and vegetables as the way to go. "The sicker you are, the more you need," she says.

Another healer who does is found by word of mouth is Dr. Barry Joneshill of Rosebud. Joneshill was a missionary and a teacher in Africa for many years. He studied herbal medicine there as well, and now sells his own line of herbal products from a store-front healing center simply called "Remedies." Considered a medical intuitive, Joneshill sees health seekers on a first-come-first-serve basis, with people lining up to see him every day besides Sunday. His method is simply to sit and ask a few questions of a person, with perhaps a moment or two of silence. Soon, he begins to describe what is going on with their health, and then prescribes herbal mixtures that are usually purchased on site at the store.

Even mainstream tourists who visit the state include healing and seeking health as a reason to travel to Arkansas.

*Dr. Justin M. Nolan, research assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, has investigated the impact of tourism in Arkansas and surrounding regions for several years. One of Nolan’s research projects has revealed that health services, especially those based on folk healing traditions, contribute significantly to the economic survival of small locations.

"Arkansas is drawing a number of day-trippers and travelers away from cities, and deeper into the countryside of the state’s mountainous backcountry. Here, in the Ozarks and the Ouachitas, holistic healing is especially pervasive, thanks in part to the geographic distribution of natural resources believed vital to its practice."

He continues, "These resources include the various wild plant life of the upcountry, the thermal springs and mineral-rich waters, and the quartz crystals of the Ouachitas. Because these resources co-exist in the Arkansas hill country, they contribute to the appeal of the landscape where various alternative healers reside. Patients with enough interest in holistic healing methods, enough mobility and the willingness to explore, are now wandering these regions in search of wellness like never before!"

An in-depth paper Dr. Nolan wrote based on the previously noted ideas will soon be published appear in a book by the University of Georgia Press. The chapter, "Miracles in the Mountains: Medical Tourism in Rural Arkansas’ Ozark and Ouachita Mountains," discusses how natural resources, (such as wilderness areas and historic attractions), as well as cultural resources like festivals and historic attractions, can strengthen rural community development programs.

Several other demographic, economic and lifestyle developments are fueling the growth in health tourism. First and foremost is the aging of the Baby Boomers, with 78 million of them in the United States and a significant amount in Arkansas, as well. Seeing the results of time pacing across their bodies has increased Boomers' interest in and need for travel opportunities that also meet their health needs. Already, boomers represent 60 percent of the spa market.

Another factor in this trend is America's fascination with fitness and alternative therapies for health maintenance and healing. Statistics tell the story. In 1997, 42 percent of Americans spent $21 billion on non-traditional medical therapies and products. Since then, nearly 25 million U.S. travelers fought the battle of bulge by using a fitness center or gym while on the road.

The third element spurring on health tourism is the fact that today's consumers are already well traveled. As a result they seek something new and different in a vacation experience. They often want something educational or experiential and various aspects of health tourism fulfill those requirements.

The fourth reason can be found in the health care system itself. Frustrations with the current systems, including negative side-effects of prescription drugs, long waits at traditional doctor’s offices, impersonal care, and other factors are causing some to seek medical care in different settings. Costs can also be a factor. Although a person seeking alternative healing may have to pay out of pocket to obtain the care, many prefer this arrangement to the lack of attention and/or effective treatments available from mainstream medicine. If managed care continues to deny United States consumers access to certain types of medical services, Americans will follow the steady stream of others who are flocking to the hill country of Arkansas and other places, sometimes abroad, to reconcile their health concerns.

Justin Nolan has studied the social ecology of the Upper South, ethnobotany in Central Missouri, traditional medicine and folklore in the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains, and the recent revival of historic hunting and fishing skills in Missouri and Arkansas. His recent publications have appeared in Human Organization, Journal of Ethnobiology, Field Methods, and the Journal of Linguistic Anthropology.