As the world becomes smaller, travelers are becoming more informed about the types of inoculations they require and additional precautions that need to be taken.
However, it wasn't that long ago that people were significantly less informed for trips abroad and more likely to suffer as a result of their unpreparedness.
It is only since the business opportunity of the travelers' health market was exposed that people have been able to travel in greater comfort and confidence.
A CNN Money article recently highlighted the impact of one of the pioneering health check companies in an article entitled 'Selling health tips to globe trotters: Dispensing advice and vaccines for world travelers is paying off for this growing franchise business'.
The focus of the piece is a business called Passport Health, a company that provides counseling and vaccines for people headed overseas.
As a result of the piece, the company will have likely benefited from the online PR associated with appearing on the pages of a reputed news provider.
The idea for Passport Health first came to owner Fran Lessans in the early 1990s while she was running health services at the University of Baltimore.
While there, a fellow student revealed her anxiety at travelling to Ghana for her mother-in-law's funeral - she had fallen ill on a previous trip and ended up in hospital for two weeks.
Although the nervous law student had ensured she'd gotten all the correct inoculations, Ms Lessans reveals that she was none-the-wiser on issues such as water purification and foods that she would be well-advised to avoid.
As such, Ms Lessans set up Passport Health in 1994 to provide the full array of services. Customers could come in and receive all the correct jabs, while at the same time getting information on all non-immunization matters.
She told the news provider: "I noticed that when people got good counseling they stayed healthy, so we spend about an hour with each of our travelers."
The company is now a franchise, selling for $35,000 and a subsequent seven per cent share of revenue.
Further revenue is generated from the delivery of flu vaccinations in the fall.
Passport Health's success is indicative of what can be achieved when a company combines a widespread need with good deed; and with the world getting even smaller and travel more popular, things look set to get even healthier.
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