An Exploratory Study on Tourist Choice Attributes and Characteristics of Medical Tourism in the Philippines

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to present a tourism strategy suitable to market characteristics. Therefore, this study is to identify medical tourism situation in the Philippines, which is a potential competitor of the Korean medical tourism market, and to derive the characteristics of medical tourism selection that can reveal the specificity of the medical tourism market. In order to achieve the purpose of research, we conducted a survey on the actual condition of medical tourism for tourists who had experienced tourism in the Philippines. As a result of this study, we could divide eight dimensions of medical tourism selection attributes in the Philippines, including ‘Political and social image’, ‘Medical service quality’, ‘National image on local people’, ‘facilities and convenience’, ‘social environment’, ‘Medical service reputation’, ‘economic image,’ and ‘tourism attractions’. In addition, cluster analysis was conducted on the basis of the revealed eight dimensions, and it was classified into four subdivided markets: ‘tourist destination priority group’, ‘medical service oriented group’, ‘long term stay oriented group’, and ‘medical tourism group’. Also, as a result of the Chi-square test, it was confirmed that income, occupation, and purpose of visit are significant variables that reveal characteristics of subdivision market. These findings can provide useful implications for future medical tourism strategies.