lived Experiences Of Medical Tourists from Treatment in Tabriz Hospitals

Medical tourism, as one of the subdirectories of health tourism is one of the most important branches of tourism industry that has great economic and social benefits. The aim of this study is lived experiences of medical tourists during their treatment in Tabriz hospitals. The study was conducted based on the qualitative approach, using an interpretive phenomenological method. Participants in this study were 20 medical tourists in hospitals of Tabriz who were selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through in-depth and semi-structured interviews. The transcribed interviews were analyzed based on the hermeneutic approach using the analysis method proposed by Diekelmann, Allen, Tanner (1989). The mentioned interviews continued until no new meanings emerged and until the researchers were satisfied with the depth of their understanding. The analysis from lived experiences of medical tourists revealed five factors as the main reasons of choosing this hospital: financial, social and cultural issues, transportation, accommodation, and hospital structure. As one of the potential destination to become the country tourism hub, Tabriz medical tourism needs to remove obstacles such as brokerage, inappropriate administrative structure of hospitals, transportation, accommodation, and financial restriction