DETERMINING THE EFFECT OF HEALTH SERVICE QUALITY IN THERMAL HEALTH CENTERS ON DESTINATION MARKETING IMAGE: THE SAMPLE OF PAMUKKALE

Öz

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of health service quality on destination marketing image. The population of the research are people/patients who receive health services from thermal health centres for treatment in the Pamukkale region. The quantitative research method was used and the data was collected from 390 people by face-to-face questionnaire technique. The samples were determined with the convenience sampling method. With the help of SPSS package program, descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and multivariate regression analysis techniques had been implemented to analyze the research data. According to the results of the research, it has been observed that "Trust" has the highest average among the factors of health service quality. Similarly, it has been observed that the "Emotional Image" variable has the highest average among the destination marketing image factors. It has also been determined that health service quality has a statistically significant effect on the destination marketing image. This study was limited to domestic customers receiving treatment service from thermal health centres in the Pamukkale region, and foreign customers were not considered within the scope of the study. The proposed framework and research findings would help stakeholders to recognize and understand the versatile association in the thermal health tourism industry. Moreover, the findings of this research will make an important contribution to the knowledge that is compatible with this field, especially for visitors who prefer thermal health tourism centres. This study on the health treatment centres in the Pamukkale region evaluates and contributes to the literature and the professionals in the field based on confirmed knowledge obtained via the valid and reliable scales that were developed for different cultures and sectors.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Health Service Quality
• Destination Marketing Image
• Therapeutic Thermal Health Center
• Pamukkale Region

DETERMINING THE EFFECT OF HEALTH SERVICE QUALITY IN THERMAL HEALTH CENTERS ON DESTINATION MARKETING IMAGE: THE SAMPLE OF PAMUKKALE

Öz

Bu çalışmanın amacı, sağlık hizmeti kalitesinin destinasyon pazarlama imajına etkisini araştırmaktır. Araştırmanın ana kütlesini Pamukkale ve çevresinde tedavi amaçlı termal sağlık merkezlerinden sağlık hizmeti alan kişi / hastalardır. Nicel araştırma yöntemi kullanılmış ve veriler yüz yüze anket tekniği ile 390 kişiden toplanmıştır. Örnekler, kolayda örnekleme yöntemi ile belirlenmiştir. Araştırma verilerini analiz etmek için SPSS paket programı yardımıyla tanımlayıcı istatistikler, Betimleyici faktör analizi (BFA) ve çok değişkenli regresyon analizi teknikleri uygulanmıştır. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre sağlık hizmet kalitesi faktörleri arasında en yüksek ortalamanın "Güven" olduğu görülmüştür. Benzer şekilde, destinasyon pazarlama imaj faktörleri arasında "Duygusal İmaj" değişkeninin en yüksek ortalamaya sahip olduğu görülmüştür. Sağlık hizmeti kalitesinin destinasyon pazarlama imajı üzerinde istatistiksel olarak anlamlı bir etkiye sahip olduğu da tespit edilmiştir. Bu çalışma Pamukkale ve çevresindeki termal sağlık merkezlerinden tedavi hizmeti alan yerli müşterilerle sınırlı tutulmuş olup, yabancı müşteriler çalışma kapsamında değerlendirilmemiştir. Önerilen çerçeve ve araştırma bulguları, sektördeki paydaşların termal sağlık turizmi endüstrisindeki çok yönlü ilişkiyi tanımasına ve anlamasına yardımcı olacaktır. Ayrıca bu araştırmanın bulguları, özellikle termal sağlık turizmi merkezlerini tercih eden ziyaretçiler için bu alanla uyumlu bilgi birikimine önemli katkı sağlayacaktır. Türkiye’deki sağlık tedavi merkezleri üzerine yapılan bu çalışma, farklı kültürler ve sektörler için geliştirilmiş geçerli ve güvenilir ölçekler kullanılarak elde edilmiş bilgilere dayalı bir şekilde literatürü değerlendirmekte ve hem uygulayıcılara hem de literatüre katkı sağlamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Sağlık Hizmet Kalitesi
• Destinasyon Pazarlama İmajı
• Tedavi Amaçlı Termal Sağlık Merkezi

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