Identification and Structural Analysis of Factors Affecting the Development of Health Tourism; A Case Study on Tehran City, Iran

Many cities in Iran have specialized human resources and appropriate medical facilities, and have the potential to attract tourists. What is essential in realizing these capacities is the recognition of tourists' mental image of the potentials of therapeutic tourism destinations. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors affecting the development of therapeutic tourism.

 The study was a descriptive survey in Tehran, Iran, during summer and autumn of 2018 and winter of 2019. First, 38 factors influencing the development of therapeutic tourism were identified, and then by Delphi method, 34 factors were identified for formulating a questionnaire. With the reliability and validity of the questionnaire, a sample of 432 health tourists in Tehran with a history of frequent referral were selected randomly. Data analysis was performed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis methods.

 By factor analysis, six main components were identified as factors affecting the development of therapeutic tourism. The factors affecting the development of tourism were as the quantity of health services (human resources and facilities available), quality of health services, living conditions, amenities and tourism, socio-cultural characteristics, advertising, and information.

Despite the importance of quantity and quality of health services, due to the increasing demand for travel, patients traveling to receive treatment need more services, and consider the level of service development in different aspects. One-dimensional attention to the expansion of health care cannot guarantee the development of this type of tourism, and the supply of other tourist needs, such as recreation, favorable living conditions, and pleasant memories, is a sufficient condition for development.