Medical tourism: a conceptual framework for an innovation in global healthcare provision

The purpose of this chapter is to establish a conceptual model that can potentially fill research gaps in the literature about medical tourism as an innovative concept in global healthcare provision by developing emerging economies as they are providing low cost alternatives in medical treatment at internationally accredited medical facilities to treat patients from developed countries. Major databases such as Ebscohost and Emerald have been used to search relevant literature. The literature on medical tourism is reviewed so as to understand the key drivers of medical tourism as well as research gaps in the existing literature. Three major drivers of medical tourism have been identified, namely cost, waiting time, and perceived quality. Further empirical research is needed to test the conceptual model in order to better understand what drives a decision to engage in medical tourism. This chapter makes three major contributions; firstly, the identification of the medical tourism literature from the service marketing and management perspectives; secondly, to propose a conceptual model representing innovation in medical tourism for global healthcare by developing emerging economies; thirdly, the identification of research gaps in the medical tourism literature through which future research can further the knowledge of why people travel to developing countries for medical treatment.

Medical tourism: A conceptual framework for an innovation in global healthcare provision

© 2015, IGI Global. The purpose of this chapter is to establish a conceptual model that can potentially fill research gaps in the literature about medical tourism as an innovative concept in global healthcare provision by developing emerging economies as they are providing low cost alternatives in medical treatment at internationally accredited medical facilities to treat patients from developed countries. Major databases such as Ebscohost and Emerald have been used to search relevant literature. The literature on medical tourism is reviewed so as to understand the key drivers of medical tourism as well as research gaps in the existing literature. Three major drivers of medical tourism have been identified, namely cost, waiting time, and perceived quality. Further empirical research is needed to test the conceptual model in order to better understand what drives a decision to engage in medical tourism. This chapter makes three major contributions; firstly, the identification of the medical tourism literature from the service marketing and management perspectives; secondly, to propose a conceptual model representing innovation in medical tourism for global healthcare by developing emerging economies; thirdly, the identification of research gaps in the medical tourism literature through which future research can further the knowledge of why people travel to developing countries for medical treatment.

Organ trafficking and transplant tourism: the role of global professional ethical standards - the 2008 declaration of Istanbul

By 2005, human organ trafficking, commercialization, and transplant tourism had become a prominent and pervasiveinfluence on transplantation therapy. The most common source of organs was impoverished people in India,Pakistan, Egypt, and the Philippines, deceased organ donors in Colombia, and executed prisoners in China. Inresponse, in May 2008, The Transplantation Society and the International Society of Nephrology developed theDeclaration of Istanbul on Organ Trafficking and Transplant Tourism consisting of a preamble, a set of principles, anda series of proposals. Promulgation of the Declaration of Istanbul and the formation of the Declaration of IstanbulCustodian Group to promote and uphold its principles have demonstrated that concerted, strategic, collaborative,and persistent actions by professionals can deliver tangible changes. Over the past 5 years, the Declaration of IstanbulCustodian Group organized and encouraged cooperation among professional bodies and relevant international, regional,and national governmental organizations, which has produced significant progress in combating organ traffickingand transplant tourism around the world. At a fifth anniversary meeting in Qatar in April 2013, the DICGtook note of this progress and set forth in a Communique´ a number of specific activities and resolved to furtherengage groups from many sectors in working toward the Declaration’s objectives.

Future research directions in tourism marketing

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to formulate and discuss future research avenues for the marketing of tourism services.

Design/methodology/approach – The approach taken in the paper is to review the relevant literature and focus on the key themes most important for future research on tourism marketing.

Findings – The paper finds that there are a number of research avenues for tourism marketing researchers and marketing practitioners to conduct investigations on but the most important areas are consumer behavior, branding, e-marketing and strategic marketing.

Practical implications – The paper is relevant to tourism firms and destination management organizations in the development of marketing activities/capabilities to increase their customer base. In addition, as this paper takes a global perspective it is also helpful to compare different international research directions.

Social implications – Changing demographics and the aging of the global population mean different marketing approaches will be needed to market tourism services to older consumers and also consumers from developing countries such as China and India.

Originality/value – This paper is a key resource for marketing practitioners wanting to focus on future growth areas and also marketing academics interested in tourism marketing that want to stay at the forefront of their research area of expertise.

Cultural diplomacy, cosmopolitanism and global hierarchy at the Shanghai Expo

In 2010, the city of Shanghai hosted the largest and most spectacular World's Fair ever. Shanghai Expo attracted a staggering 73 million visitors, around 98% of whom were domestic Chinese, and involved the participation of 190 countries. As a forum of "virtual tourism," the event is significant given the rapid and long-term growth in outbound Chinese tourism. This article pursues a closer reading of how "the world" was performed and exhibited to these visitors. Oriented by two theoretical considerations - the spatial configuration of the expo site and its cosmopolitan imagination - the article considers how the format of the Expo revealed and declared certain elements of the global, while simultaneously effacing and squeezing out others. The Expo is thus interpreted as an important mechanism in the creation of a new national citizenry in China and as part of the ceremonialization of a global polity of a "family of nations."

Innovation in medical tourism service marketing: A case of India

© 2015, IGI Global. The aim of this chapter is to critically examine the latest development of medical tourism as an innovation in India. The existing theories and concepts in medical tourism are reviewed and synthesised in order to lay down a foundation for marketing managers to deploy marketing mix strategies to deliver values to the medical tourists. A secondary research method is adapted to gather relevant literature. This chapter not only provides a background introduction to the growing importance of the medical tourism industry to the Indian economy, but also makes major contributions: firstly, that global healthcare service marketing is quite different from marketing of other services and goods. Secondly, it proposes to examine the application of 8Ps of tourism marketing-mix along with another 6Ps, such as personalisation of healthcare, publication for patient, patient packaging, patient education, patient privacy, and patient medical and cultural sensitivities for effective marketing of the popular Indian wellness and medical tourism destinations, super-speciality hospitals, and complex diagnostic tests and surgeries to the world.