Iraqi Citizens' Views on Medical Tourism in Iran from a Political, Economic, and Religious Point of View

Political, economic, and cultural forces of the environment can play an important role in shaping the behavior of foreign consumers. However, so far, their impact on the process of selecting medical tourism destinations in foreign target markets has not been considered by researchers. Therefore, this study endeavors to explore the role of political tensions, economic issues, and religious differences in the occurrence of adverse feelings among Iraqi consumers and possible consequences in the marketing of medical tourism destinations.

This applied study was performed using a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design (i.e., qualitative + quantitative). In the qualitative phase, potential sources of consumer animosity were identified through in-depth interviews with 25 Iraqi university professors and researchers and using the thematic analysis method. In the quantitative phase, the data collection instrument was a questionnaire whose validity and reliability were confirmed. The sample size was 385 individuals who were selected through convenience sampling method. The data were analyzed through Structural Equation Method.

In the qualitative phase, political, economic, and religious issues were identified as the main dimensions of consumer animosity, but based on the findings of the qualitative section, the influence of political factors and economic factors on the animosity of Iraqi consumers were confirmed. The animosity reduces the willingness to travel to medical tourism destinations and social exposure to travel experience but has no effect on the evaluation of the quality of the services.

Political and economic issues give rise to negative feelings for foreign clients of medical services in the country of origin of medical services which in turn cause undesirable consequences such as reduced desire to travel to medical tourism destinations. Therefore, managers and stakeholders in this sector should pay attention to the importance of these factors in the decision-making process and consumer selection in target countries, especially Iraq, and adopt appropriate marketing strategies to mitigate these negative effects.