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1 – 10 of over 2000Mengyin Jiang, Lindu Zhao and Yingji Li
This study aims to explore the consumer perceptions of cognition and intention to visit pilot zone of international medical tourism as emerging, developed medical tourism…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the consumer perceptions of cognition and intention to visit pilot zone of international medical tourism as emerging, developed medical tourism destinations.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a survey-based quantitative method, based on a survey of 439 tourists who have cross-border travel experience, the partial least squares approach was performed to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results show that internal factors had a stronger influence on destination image compared to external factors. Among different factors, preferential policies had the greatest impact on intention to visit. Perceived quality had a stronger effect on intention to visit than preference. Geographical distance had a varied effect, with those furthest away in Northeast China showing greater intention to visit compared to closer regions.
Originality/value
This study explores the impact of multidimensional destination perception on medical tourists’ behavioural intention in emerging destinations by integrating the push-pull theory and theory of planned behaviour and tests how geographical distance affects intention to visit emerging destinations. Using China international medical tourism pilot area as a typical case of medical tourism emerging destinations for empirical analysis. This research offers guidance for branding and marketing strategies, contributes to a deeper understanding of medical tourists’ destination choices, enriches the theoretical explanation of emerging destination choice in medical tourism and provides valuable insights for destination recovery.
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Ediansyah, Mts Arief, Mohammad Hamsal and Sri Bramantoro Abdinagoro
This article aims to know the direction of current research based on the previous research in the last ten years (2012–2021).
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to know the direction of current research based on the previous research in the last ten years (2012–2021).
Design/methodology/approach
Text mining was integrated with a network and content analysis as part of the mix methodological approach. The scientific articles, on the other hand, were assembled on Litmaps through web scraping. This process selected 86 articles about medical tourism published between 2012 and 2021. This study employed AntConc, RStudio and Gephi tools for data analysis and visualization.
Findings
A total of 138 articles were identified through Litmaps using web scraping and 86 studies met the criteria. The trend of medical tourism research is a positive sign for tourism and health industries; this is the beginning to recognize the importance of elaborating on these two topics. Several researchers have frequently studied issues of destination, hospital, development, quality, stakeholders, surgery, service, economics and policy. Policymakers must establish a medical tourism ecosystem to accommodate all stakeholders in this industry. This study also recommends focusing on supply and institution for medical tourism future research.
Research limitations/implications
This literature review presents research trends on medical tourism in 2012–2021 based solely on articles available on the Litmaps search engine. If the time span is extended and the sources of articles are expanded there will be more literature available for analysis. The articles obtained are also only articles published in English due to the language limitations of the author.
Practical implications
Policymakers must establish a medical tourism ecosystem to accommodate all stakeholders in this industry. Stakeholders must work together to provide medical tourism package therefore people can get their health services while visiting available tourist areas.
Originality/value
The literary study of medical tourism over 10 years is considered the most recent systematic literature review.
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Daniel William Mackenzie Wright and Santa Zascerinska
Is humanity heading to immortal living? If so, what areas of society are playing an active role in achieving this? In order to understand this, the study explores the relationship…
Abstract
Purpose
Is humanity heading to immortal living? If so, what areas of society are playing an active role in achieving this? In order to understand this, the study explores the relationship between immortality and the wellness and medical tourism industry to seek potential relationships between them and ultimately, asks difficult questions about the growth of these tourism sectors and the potential need for greater regulation of them.
Design/methodology/approach
Taking a pragmatic philosophical approach and through the examination of refined information from secondary sources and published material and reports, the study presents original theoretical knowledge and a model exploring tourism and human immortality.
Findings
This paper argues that continued growth in the wellness and medical markets today could lead to a world where transhumanists and cyborgs are present in our world, even taking over from Homo sapiens. The study presents a model highlighting the potential role of wellness and medical tourism markets, illustrating the potential for future consumer services that could further fuel the search for immortality. Thus, how such markets and consumer desires are (in)directly supporting humanities desire for (non-human) immortal existence.
Originality/value
Today, individuals are driven by wellness practices and medical and cosmetic desires and are willing to travel the globe in search of companies who are either capable of carrying out the desired procedures or seeking prices more affordable to them. This research offers novel insights into these complex relationships and maps the affiliation between wellness and medical practices and the concept of immortality.
Sunita Guru, Anamika Sinha and Pradeep Kautish
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.
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.
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Ferdos Abbaspour, Sanaz Soltani and Aaron Tham
This paper aims to examine whether medical tourism can be a frontrunner in terms of post-pandemic recovery for the industry
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine whether medical tourism can be a frontrunner in terms of post-pandemic recovery for the industry
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-method analysis of 17 interviews and 210 questionnaires involving medical tourists to Iran was applied.
Findings
Medical tourists perceived the risks posed by COVID-19 as a temporal one, and attitudes toward post pandemic visitation intentions remained strong. In addition, these tourists can mostly be classified into responsive individuals, who demonstrate not only high risk but also high efficacy levels to negotiate the threats posed by the pandemic. No gender differences were located between male and female medical tourists in terms of post-COVID-19 travel intentions to Iran.
Originality/value
This research extends the application of the risk perception attitude framework to a medical tourism context. Furthermore, medical tourists are uncovered as another segment of crisis-resistant tourists.
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Kasturi Shukla and Avadhut Patwardhan
Medical tourism demands tremendous responsiveness and accountability. The triple bottom line in medical tourism indicates that these organizations must emphasize on economic…
Abstract
Medical tourism demands tremendous responsiveness and accountability. The triple bottom line in medical tourism indicates that these organizations must emphasize on economic profits, environmental protection, and conservation of social resources. Developing a resilient medical tourism ecosystem is another critical necessity after the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study attempts to study the various aspects of medical tourism while synthesizing the relevant theories. This synthesis was used to propose a framework for developing a resilient medical tourism system. The outcomes of the chapter also propose the long, medium, and short-term goals. These goals focus on relevant stakeholders for developing highly integrated and resilient medical-tourism destinations.
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Mohammadjavad Shabankareh, Alireza Nazarian, Mohammad Hassan Golestaneh and Fereshteh Dalouchi
Health tourism is a relatively new branch of international tourism that has developed more rapidly than other tourism sectors in recent years. This study aimed to investigate the…
Abstract
Purpose
Health tourism is a relatively new branch of international tourism that has developed more rapidly than other tourism sectors in recent years. This study aimed to investigate the effect of government supports on health tourism development by considering the mediating role of internal and external infrastructures.
Design/methodology/approach
The study population consisted of all experts of two hospitals in Iran, which are frequently visited by foreign tourists (N = 151). A questionnaire, developed by combining standard and researcher-made questionnaires, was used to collect the data. The confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) model was developed in SmartPLS 3 to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The main hypothesis test results indicated that government supports positively affect the development of health tourism. Internal and external infrastructures were also found to mediate the relationship between government supports and health tourism development. In addition, the sub-hypothesis test results showed that internal and external infrastructures are positively affected by government supports, which puts forth the development of health tourism. As the results explained, the most important aspects of internal infrastructures affected by government support were health service quality, cost of health services and applying advanced medical technologies, respectively. Also, different aspects of external infrastructures affected by government supports are as follows: economic, infrastructures and cultural factors.
Originality/value
This study is the first of its kind to examine the impact of both medical and non-medical factors on health tourism and signifies the crucial role of governments in the development of health tourism.
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Md. Noor Un Nabi, Sarif Mohammad Khan, S.M. Misbauddin and Kaniz Fatema
There is evidence of Bangladeshi citizens travelling to India to receive medical treatments, known as medical tourism. This study aims to explore the perceived justice dimensions…
Abstract
Purpose
There is evidence of Bangladeshi citizens travelling to India to receive medical treatments, known as medical tourism. This study aims to explore the perceived justice dimensions of Bangladeshi patients towards domestic health care and the effects of these dimensions on their intention for outbound tourism to India.
Design/methodology/approach
Data from 307 Bangladeshi medical tourists were collected to test the proposed model. The data has been interpreted through the proposed model with covariance-based structural equation modelling in AMOS. To produce the results, the measurement model and structural model were examined.
Findings
The analysis confirmed the significant impact of procedural, informational and interpersonal justice dimensions on patients’ health-care experiences. However, the effect of distributive justice on patient experience has been found insignificant. The study also revealed a significant negative impact of patient satisfaction on outbound medical tourism intention. Thus, it raises concerns for the local medical service providers about improving patient satisfaction.
Practical implications
The findings of this paper can be applicable for health-care practitioners and policymakers in emerging countries to improve the bottlenecks of the health-care system for increasing patients’ service experiences and reducing the intention of patients for outbound medical tourism.
Originality/value
The research on perceived justice theory regarding the intention of medical tourism is limited. This research is one of the few studies to combine perceived justice theory with trust and medical tourism decision-making. Using the lens of perceived justice, this research argues that the decrease in perceived justice negatively affects the patients’ service experience, trust and loyalty to the service provider.
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Gerry Edgar, Amirali Kharazmi, Sedigheh Behzadi and Omid Ali Kharazmi
This research is an empirical study that addresses whether knowledge resources impact on, or do not impact on, innovation development and if this impact is mediated by dynamic…
Abstract
Purpose
This research is an empirical study that addresses whether knowledge resources impact on, or do not impact on, innovation development and if this impact is mediated by dynamic capabilities in the medical tourism sector in Mashhad city, Iran.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative research methodology was applied and questionnaires were used for data collection in this study. A total of 108 questionnaires were collected of which 102 questionnaires were valid. Data were analyzed using structural equation modelling technique.
Findings
Empirical evidence obtained from the study reveals that the dynamic capability of learning plays a significant role in transforming knowledge resources into innovation in the medical tourism sector. The mediating role of coordinating capability in the relationship between explicit and tacit knowledge and innovation is considerable and it influences human capital, as well. Sensing capability also exhibits some degree of a mediating role; however, integrating capability is not influential and its role in transforming explicit knowledge to innovation is rejected.
Originality/value
Most studies on innovation in medical tourism focused on market and its typology, and neglected the role of knowledge resources and dynamic capabilities. The current study bridges this gap and thus contributes to the scientific literature.
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Diya Guha Roy, Sujoy Bhattacharya and Srabanti Mukherjee
This research theoretically proposed and empirically validated a Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) scale specifically for Medical Tourism for emerging economies including recent…
Abstract
Purpose
This research theoretically proposed and empirically validated a Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) scale specifically for Medical Tourism for emerging economies including recent findings from tourism theories such as gravity model and signalling theory, but more specifically accommodating political, cultural, economic, legal and social influences.
Design/methodology/approach
In-depth literature reviews from tourism, medical tourism, healthcare and hospitality domains are used to propose the theoretical model. The authors have used the lavaan package in R for the empirical analysis and model verification.
Findings
The research included, tested and verified the established latent variables such as “brand awareness”, “brand association”, “perceived quality” and “loyalty”, along with new observed variables for the CBBE scale from the theoretical perspectives of this research. “Infrastructure” has emerged as a new scale construct and “culture” was found to be a moderating variable for “perceived quality” in the CBBE scale, which are novel additions to the literature.
Originality/value
The research contributed to scale refining, latent construct assessment, and fine-tuning of the observed variables for the mentioned theoretical gaps.
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