Determinants of medical tourism: application of Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchical Process
International Journal of Emerging Markets
ISSN: 1746-8809
Article publication date: 7 February 2022
Issue publication date: 5 December 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The study aims to facilitate the medical tourists visiting emerging countries for various kinds of ailments by ranking the possible destinations to avail medical treatments.
Design/methodology/approach
A Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchical Process (FAHP) with a mixed-method approach is applied to analyze data collected from patients and substantiate it with medical tour operators in India to gain managerial insights on the choice-making patterns of the patients.
Findings
India is a preferred emerging market location due to the low cost and high medical staff quality. India offers value for money, whereas Singapore and Thailand are preferred destinations for quality and technology.
Research limitations/implications
The study will facilitate the emerging markets' governments, hospitals and medical tourists to understand the importance of various determinants responsible for availing medical treatment outside their country.
Practical implications
The study recommends that cost and quality care are the patients' prime focus; government policies must provide clear guidelines on what the hospitals and country environment can offer and accordingly align the marketing strategies.
Originality/value
This study is the first attempt to rank various factors affecting medical tourism using the FAHP approach.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Mr. Rajeev Bhattacharya, CEO, Ex-Shalby; Ms. Carla Fernandes, Marketing Executive, Manipal Hospitals; Mr. Ravi Bhandari, Marketing and Sales Head, Shalby Hospitals, Independent Consultant on Health Care; Mr. Cherian K, Training and Development Manager, Johnson and Johnson Med Device; Ms. Vishaka Jain, HR Head, Clinic Spot Pvt Ltd; Mr. Guruprasad M.S., Director, Narayan Hriduyalaya; Mr. Umesh Menon, Board Member of Shalby, Independent Medical Tour Operator, Professor at Entrepreneur Development Institute; Dr. Sarita Gupta, CEO, INDMED; Dr. Vijay Naik, Consulting Doctor at Healthway Hospitals, Dr. Ambuj Chaturvedi, Vice President, IKP, Hyderabad; Manoj Rajan, Medical Tourism Corporation; Manish Chandra, Vaidam Healthcare for their help in data collection process.
Ethics statement: The author(s) declare that there is no ethical violation exercised during the conduct of the study.
Citation
Guru, S., Sinha, A. and Kautish, P. (2023), "Determinants of medical tourism: application of Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchical Process", International Journal of Emerging Markets, Vol. 18 No. 11, pp. 4819-4842. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOEM-08-2021-1173
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited