Factors Affecting the Attraction of Medical Tourists in Iran

Abstract

Medical tourism is a new form of tourism that has seen increasing growth in recent years as an economic activity based on business services that link the two fields of medicine and tourism. Two of the most important issues to be considered in this regard are the marketing of medical tourism and the advantage of the relative competitive advantage. Therefore, the identification and prioritization of factors affecting the attraction of medical tourists might help to improve the quality and quantity of this new industry not only in Iran, but also in the world. From the viewpoint of academic experts in the field of tourism and medical tourism, physicians, hospital managers, and medical tourists, medical tourism in Iran is affected by service and welfare factors, advertising factors, physical factors, political and geographical factors, and human factors, respectively.