Designing a Health Tourism Ecotourism Pattern in South Khorasan Province with a Mix Method Approach

Health tourism can contribute to the sustainable development and dynamism of the country's economy; Because this industry is a national strategy to increase the country's income and also an arm of national security, but little by little, since 2004, health tourism in Iran has received more attention, which unfortunately has not yet grown significantly, so the purpose of this study is to design The model of ecotourism is health tourism. The statistical population is 56 managers and experts in the field of health tourism in South Khorasan. Due to the limited statistical population, the census was used. In terms of orientation, the present study is an applied research that was conducted by mixed (qualitative-quantitative) method using metacombination technique and in terms of research strategy, it is a survey type. For this purpose, after validation (content and confirmation validity) and reliability (Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability); In the Delphi section (Kendall coordination coefficient, kappa agreement value), a questionnaire was distributed among the target population. According to the research findings, the most important to the least important components in attracting medical tourists in South Khorasan from the respondents: hospital credibility, costs, quality of treatment, training of medical staff, political atmosphere, regulatory policies, infrastructure and hospital location and economic status. The most important problem was the lack of transparent treatment steps and support system. In similar studies, the most important motivation for medical travel has been identified as the low cost of treatment in the destination country, and political, economic conditions, laws and standards, as well as the credibility of medical centers as influential factors have been mentioned to decide on the destination. This study examined the dimensions of the development of medical tourism at the macro and micro levels, both in terms of the current situation and priorities from the perspective of medical tourism activists. The development of medical tourism requires a comprehensive view that will be achieved through coordination between relevant organizations and the formulation and implementation of macro and micro strategies.

Today, tourism and the tourism industry have become one of the most important sources of income for countries. As some experts have acknowledged, it has brought the highest amount of income to countries after the oil industry. Of course, this is not far from the mind, because today tourism and travel from a luxury product that is only available to a certain segment of society, has become a basic commodity for the people of the world. And travel is classified as one of the essential and basic needs of human beings. Today, tourism has become so important in the socio-economic development of countries that economists have called it invisible exports. Increasing international growth on the one hand and increasing interest in tourist destinations on the other hand has led to the emergence of more and more types of tourism such as cultural and educational tourism, religious, urban, rural, sports and health tourism. It is estimated that each health tourist earns three times as much as a regular tourist Evidence suggests that the tourism industry has a growth rate of 4.3%, while the growth rate for health tourism is around 11%. Each health tourism is worth 3 times as much as a regular tourist, and the revenue from medical tourism worldwide is estimated at $ 21 billion, and according to these estimates, in Asia alone, this amount will reach $ 90 billion in 2020. However, the announcement of regulations and rules for the establishment of medical tourism centers in the summer of 1392 shows that Iran has been late in this regard. Health tourism in Iran has a very short history. In fact, medical tourism in Iran in 2003 was first considered by the Ministry of Health. But fortunately, a type of this tourism is popular in Iran these days and attracts many tourists from countries in the region to benefit from medical services. Of course, the Ministry of Health focused more on this issue with the aim of creating employment for medical graduates, rather than on the prosperity of health tourism. But little by little, since 1983, right after the merger of the Cultural Heritage Organization and the Iran Tourism Organization, health tourism was created independently in Iran and received more attention, which unfortunately has not yet grown significantly. In South Khorasan, for several years now, due to the fact that Khavaran is bordered by Afghanistan, there has been talk of health tourism and the need for the province to enter this category. A look at the past and present of health tourism in the province can be useful in planning for the future. Therefore, the present study seeks to provide a model of health tourism ecotourism in South Khorasan province.

Case study

The study of this study is private and public hospitals, medical centers and medical services in South Khorasan province

The present study is an applied research according to the purpose, which will be done by mixed method (qualitative-quantitative) and using meta-combination technique. In terms of the nature and type of data collection, the research is descriptive-survey. A meta-combination similar to a meta-analysis is used to integrate several studies to create comprehensive and interpretive findings.

In this study, the views of treatment experts in hospitals and clinics of South Khorasan province about the factors of attracting medical tourists in hospitals of this province have been collected through a questionnaire. The aim was to investigate the current situation of medical tourism in Iran with respect to the effective factors in the development of this tourism industry at the macro level (destination selection) and micro (hospital selection from the perspective of medical activists. The situation of medical tourism in Iran in terms of destination characteristics and medical centers according to the studied indicators is as follows: In general, according to 70% of respondents, the situation of medical tourism in Iran is below average. Destination characteristics, in terms of four characteristics of economic and political status, regulatory policies and availability of infrastructure, economically, from the respondents' point of view, economic stability and transparency in treatment tariffs are most important in the development of medical tourism. With the help of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, by introducing and promoting the country's potentials and facilitating the issuance of visas, providing a safe and stable image of Iran can be the basis for attracting medical tourists to the country. Area people Health Tourism 97.6% of the respondents believe that no significant action has been taken and most of the respondents believe that the implementation of laws and regulations can play an effective role in attracting health tourists.

According to the conditions of Iran, medical tourism is one of the types of tourism that can play an effective role in the development of Iran's tourism industry, so it is recommended to pay attention to various aspects of the industry and create comprehensive plans by creating an integrated relationship between influential factors. Organizations that are involved in the development of medical tourism, in cooperation and coordination with each other to provide the grounds for the development of medical tourism at the regional and international level.In this regard, it is suggested that health policy makers pay special attention to the balanced allocation of funds to the health sector and the definition of practical indicators of access and fairness in service delivery. In this regard, it is necessary to pay attention to the fact that because the consequences of the health services trade depend on the context in one country, the import of remote health services in one country may be considered an opportunity and at the same time in another country Be considered a threat