The healthcare hotel: Distinctive attributes for international medical travelers

Despite rapid growth in the medical/healthcare-tourism industry, research on the concept of the healthcare hotel, which can be a significant part of this industry, is rare. This study was designed to identify the distinctive attributes of a healthcare hotel—those facets unlikely to be available in regular medical clinics—and to test the role of these identified attributes in building visit intention among international travelers by considering the impact of perceptions/cognitions, affect, and trust. Qualitative and quantitative approaches generated three dimensions (monetary and convenience advantages, personal security, and availability of products/services) involving 23 attributes and validated the assessment tool for them. The results from the structural model revealed that the proposed relationships among study variables are positively and significantly associated. In addition, perceptions/cognitions, affect, and trust were found to be mediators in the proposed theoretical framework. Implications related to the identified attributes and tested relationships are discussed.