Presenting a Conceptual Model of Health Tourism with Emphasis on Word-of-Mouth Advertising in Health Centers: A Grounded Theory Approach

Abstract

Introduction: Health tourism is a new form of marketing in the tourism industry which has been growing in recent years. Health tourism is done to improve the health of people and to take them out of their place of residence. The aim of this article was to present a Health Tourism Model with emphasis on word-of-mouth advertising in health centers. Methods: This research was based on the grounded theory, and it was qualitative in nature. The researcher has attempted to identify the factors affecting the concept of health tourism by emphasizing the role of word-ofmouth advertising using a qualitative method. Interview was held with twenty managers of Health Tourism Center and academic experts, and finaly the data were analyzed and presented using the Grounded Theory approach. Results: Findings were put into a model with six main dimensions: market attractiveness, strategy, service diversification, internal conditions, word-ofmouth advertising, health tourism, and thirty-three sub-dimensions. Also, based on the interview, other factors affecting the issue of health tourism included political conditions of the country, economic factors, transportation prices, the cost of medical services, the number of specialized doctors, exchange rates, and the number of medical centers equipped with health tourism. Conclusion: According to the results, it can be said that decision makers can collect and categorize the factors influencing the health tourism concept.