Examination Of Factors That Are Effective in The Preferences Of Medical Tourists

Abstract

The aim of this research is to examine the factors (country environment, services/facilities, costs, tourism destination) which have impacts on preference of medical tourists by considering some socio-demographic qualities (gender, age, marital status, monthly income, education, continent/region). the Medical Tourism Index (MTI) of Fetscherin and Stephano’s (2016) study, which consists of four dimensions and 34 expressions, was used for this purpose. The factors in the scale were selected because they are among the factors that are also effective in choice of country and health institution of medical tourists. The population of the study consists of 302,416 medical tourists coming from abroad to be treated in Istanbul and Ankara, which are among the preferred cities in terms of medical tourism in Turkey. The sample of the study covered 415 medical tourists. As a result of the research; the “country environment” factor which is effective in medical tourism preference, differs according to gender, income status, education level and country of origin of the medical tourists; the “tourism destination” factor differs according to the income of medical tourists and the continent/region they come from; the factor of “medical tourism costs” differs according to the income of medical tourists and the continent/region they come from and, it has been determined that the "facility and services" factor differs according to the education level of the medical tourists and the continent/region they come from.

Keywords

• Medical tourism
• Medical tourist
• Preference factors

Medikal Turistlerin Tercihinde Etkili Olan Faktörlerin İncelenmesi

Öz

Bu araştırmanın amacı, medikal turistlerin tercihinde etkili olan faktörlerin (ülke ortamı, hizmetler/tesisler, maliyetler, turizm destinasyonu), bazı sosyo-demografik özellikler (cinsiyet, yaş, medeni durum, aylık gelir, eğitim, kıta/bölge) dikkate alınarak incelenmesidir. Bu amaçla, çalışmada Fetscherin ve Stephano’nun (2016) dört boyut ve 34 ifadeden oluşan Medikal Turizm İndeksi (MTI) kullanılmıştır. Ölçekte yer alan faktörler, medikal turistlerin ülke ve sağlık kuruluşu tercihinde de etkili olan faktörler arasında yer aldığından tercih edilmiştir. Çalışmanın evrenini, Türkiye’de medikal turizm açısından tercih edilen iller arasında yer alan İstanbul ve Ankara’ya tedavi olmak için yurt dışından gelen 302.416 medikal turist oluşturmaktadır. Araştırmanın örneklemi ise 415 medikal turistten oluşmuştur. Araştırma sonucunda; medikal turizm tercihinde etkili olan “ülke ortamı” faktörünün medikal turistlerin cinsiyeti, gelir durumu, eğitim durumu ve geldikleri ülkeye göre; “turizm varış noktası” faktörünün medikal turistlerin geliri ve geldikleri kıta/bölgeye göre; “tıbbi turizm maliyetleri” faktörünün medikal turistlerin geliri ve geldikleri kıta/bölgeye göre; “tesis ve hizmetler” faktörünün medikal turistlerin eğitim durumu ve geldikleri kıta/bölgeye göre farklılık gösterdiği tespit edilmiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Medikal turizm
• medikal turist
• tercih faktörleri.

Kaynakça

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