Authors : Yuhanis Abdul Aziz, Zaiton Samdin, Khairil Wahidin Awang and Zulhamri Abdullah
Abstract: Currently, medical tourism is regarded as an important emerging tourism sector in the Malaysian economy. Despite it’s significant contribution to the country’s GDP, the examination of the main factors that contribute to the success of the industry remain limited. Therefore, the objective of the study is three-fold. First is to propose the medical tourism index from the service point of view. Second is to examine the ranking of the identified index. Finally to investigate the index which holds most value for money. The survey is conducted with 400 medical tourists over a period of 4 months. Several important findings are reported. An index with 5 dimensions is identified as the most important factors in medical tourism. The findings also suggest that hospital reputation is the most influential factor among the index. The result also provides evidence that medical treatment is a factor that has the most excellent value for money. It is concluded that clear index categorisation will assist greatly in conceptualising empirical developments and improving the overall service experience for medical tourists. The implications are discussed, limitations are noted and possible areas in future research are proposed.
Yuhanis Abdul Aziz, Zaiton Samdin, Khairil Wahidin Awang and Zulhamri Abdullah, 2015. Developing an Index for Medical Tourism. International Business Management, 9: 412-415.