Designing the Medical Tourism Trends Model in Guilan Province, Iran

Although currently a small part of services marketing, tourism, or medical services has been allocated to medical tourism, its role cannot be dismissed as either temporary or insignificant. The aim of this research was to design the medical tourism trends model and investigate effective factors on medical tourism attraction in Guilan Province, Iran.
This applied study was carried out using a descriptive survey method. The study population consisted of all medical tourists who had chosen the private hospitals of Rasht and Beheshti Hospital in Astara, Iran, for their medical care during the study period (n = 100). Data were collected through census method using a questionnaire. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were approved through confirmatory factor analysis and Cronbach’s alpha, respectively. Descriptive statistical indexes were used to describe the data and partial least squares structural equation modeling was used for data analysis in SmartPLS software.
Perceived medical quality, perceived service quality, perceived reputation, and religion had a positive effect on medical tourists’ perceived value. Perceived fee also had a positive effect on the perceived value of medical tourists of Rasht Province. In addition, medical tourists’ perceived value had a strong positive effect on customer trends in medical tourism.
Improving medical infrastructure, increasing medical and tourism quality, providing correct and comprehensive advertisement about hospitals of Guilan in countries bordering the Caspian Sea, and improving supportive facilities for patients and their companions would lead to the development medical tourism and increasing of job opportunities and income in Guilan Province.