The relationship between the medical tourism destination image, the perceived value of medical travel and the intention to visit again: An application on medical tourists visiting Turkey

Medical tourism where people prefer to travel away from their homes in search of health and wellness, has become an indispensable part of the global health sector in recent years. This growth in medical tourism has led to the involvement of an increasing number of countries in this sector, which has become more competitive than ever and offers opportunities for future generations. In the conditions of increasing competition, these countries are making comprehensive analyzes and deep – rooted investments in many areas in order to enter the medical tourism industry and gain a greater share from the global industry. Therefore, it is critical to identify the motivational factors that will influence people's decisions before, during and after travel to understand the medical services they need and attract potential patients to their destination. Nevertheless, the perceived value from the service offered during the medikal trip, it is thought that may be related to their intention to visit again when they need it again in the future. This research aims to examine to what extent the perceptions acquired before the trip and the information about the destination image are related to the perceived value during their medical trips. It also aims to examine the extent to which the knowledge they have gained about the image of the destination and the value they receive from their medical trips are related to their intention to revisit in the future. The main body (population) of the research consists of international medical tourists who come to Turkey to receive treatment within the scope of medical tourism. Quantitative research method (quantitative research design) was used in the research and 534 questionnaires were collected using the online questionnaire technique. In addition, descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis multiple regression, difference tests and path analysis techniques were used. In the analysis of the obtained data, SPSS 26 and AMOS 21 package programs were assisted. The results of the research generally reflect the perspectives of international medical tourists visiting Turkey on the image of Turkey as a medical tourism destination, the value they perceive from their medical trips, and their intention to revisit Turkey in the future. According to the results obtained from the research; The motivational factors that best represent the values that medical tourists get from their medical trips have been determined as "the experiences they have learned through word of mouth communication from their family / friends circles with the information they have learned from the social media activities carried out by Turkey's own and medical service providers". However, medical tourists' future revisit intentions are best represented by the value they perceive from their medical trips. The value perceived by medical tourists from their medical trips in line with the direct relationships (dual models) for the variables that make up the research model; It has been found that Turkey's unique aspects, Turkey's social aspects and Turkey's destination image in medical tourism have a significant positive effect. On the other hand, the intention of medical tourists to visit Turkey again in the future; It has been determined that Turkey's medical tourism destination image and the value they perceive from their medical trip to Turkey have a significant positive effect. In general, this research is the only study in the field of medical tourism that takes into account the effects of medical tourists' knowledge of their perceptions and experiences from their medical trips on their intention to revisit in the future. At the same time, the data obtained form the basis for making Turkey stand out among other destinations. Keywords; Destination Image, Perceived Value, Revisit Intention