Background: This narrative review aimed to reevaluate the medical tourism sector in Iran to reveal the new trends and activities in order to know the current actual share of Iran in the competitive market of global medical tourism. Methods: A holistic approach was adopted to analyze the information collected through a system of investigation that comprised the available secondary data, besides the information and statistical data about the associated organizations to this sector in Iran. Results: Iran’s medical tourism sector is consistent with the new trends in global market, which is mainly bordered countries-based, cultural-oriented, and diasporic type of travelling. Conclusion: It would be more realistic in the contemporary situation to focus the promotions on the border countries, and design the policy, and implementation in accordance with their cultural and social preferences. Activities in both levels of governmental and micro-level planning are demanded, under the cover of a comprehensive monitoring system. This review will benefit researchers exploring the updated evaluation of Iran’s medical tourism; also, it provides helpful insights to authorities in both governmental and private sector.
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic-induced changes have threatened the psychological wellbeing of travelling. This review aims to appraise a range of perceived psychological variables used to realize how the pandemic has influenced tourist behavior. Methods: A systematic review was conducted to identify the mechanisms behind tourists' behavioral change during the pandemic. The papers were extracted from four databases: PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, and EMBASE, published since 2020 to 2021. The results are summarized narratively due to the heterogeneity of the studies. Results: A total of 369 citations were identified through an electronic search of databases, of which nine publications met the inclusion criteria. The extracted information determines the significant factors contributing to the psychological changes of travelling behavior during the pandemic. Conclusion: The tourists' perception of COVID-19 has influenced the intentions and motivation in the tourism sector and has changed travel behavior. The mental health outcome of travelling has been replaced by globally recognized fear and anxiety. Yet, there are several motivators to travel during the pandemic. At the same time, the socio-demographic characteristics contribute to all the identified changes.
The stressful lifestyle of urban dwellers has increased the demand for green-based leisure activities; considering such growing demand, this paper investigated the potential mental health benefits of agritourism activities. The assessments were based on a questionnaire survey of two groups: visitors of agritourism sites around Seoul and a control group staying home (n = 200). In addition to measuring the participants’ well-being level and stress level, they were also asked to self-estimate their immediate mood after their activities of the day. The analysis was conducted with R version 4.1.0 to explore the potential relationships and interactions between the activity of the day, perceived psychological factors, and the immediate emotional outcomes. Findings reveal that visitors to the agritourism sites perceived considerable improvement in their immediate mood compared to the control group who stayed home. Results indicate a significant interaction between self-reported wellbeing and agritourism activities and a combined effect on improved mood. Therefore, agritourism can potentially be a resource for a positive mood boost and improved mental health. The suggested practical implications can be applied as strategies to evoke the feeling of more connection to the agritourism activities and raise awareness of potential mental health outcomes.
The experiences of South Korea in controlling the transmission of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease-2019) is valuable as a successful strategic plan. However, this research aimed to investigate the effective factors in this process from different perspectives. Based on an analysis of the available information and statistics published by the government, World Health Organization, and local organizations, this research was searching for not only the effective approaches in controlling the transmission but also the effective factors that roots in Korean cultural background and lifestyle. The critical points in controlling the virus transmission in Korea have been to respond promptly, besides of designing an active system of tracing, and early detection. The supply chain management prevented any shortage on the required products. Advanced technology guaranteed the safety of the medical facilities. However, another efficient factor was the Korean social and cultural background, besides the national solidarity. The findings highlight that the mechanisms that help South Korea fight in controlling the transmissions of the pandemic were in line with the World Health Organization’s recommendation. However, South Korea gained advantages from other factors that have roots in their social interactions, cultural background, and the well-established and advanced IT systems that enabled the government to manage the outbreak of COVID-19.
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