Determinants of Medical Tourists’ Revisit and Recommend Intention

ABSTRACT

The present study aims to analyze the factors affecting medical tourists’ revisit and recommend intention such as perceived authenticity, destination image, perceived value, and satisfaction. To this end, a 50-item questionnaire is distributed among 384 medical tourists who have visited Iran’s hospitals and beauty clinics in the spring, summer, and fall of 2017. The results indicate that medical tourists’ perceived authenticity of medical centers has an impact on their destination image, and both of these factors affect their perceived value and satisfaction. In addition, medical tourists’ satisfaction of their trip leads to their revisit intention and their revisit intention influence their word of mouth.

KEYWORDS:

• Medical tourism
• destination image
• perceived authenticity
• satisfaction
• revisit intention
• word of mouth

Notes

1. LASIK: Abbreviation standing for laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis, a kind of laser eye surgery designed to change the shape of the cornea to eliminate or reduce the need for glasses and contact lenses in cases of severe nearsightedness.

2. IVF: Abbreviation standing for In Vitro Fertilization which is a type of assisted reproductive technology used for infertility treatment.