The Attractiveness of Poland as a Medical Tourism Destination from the Perspective of German and British Consumers

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the article is an assessment of the attractiveness of Poland as
a medical tourism destination (MTD).

Research Design & Methods: Survey data were collected from 282 German and British tourists, using a self-administered questionnaire. The Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing method was used to conduct the survey. Subsequently, the responses were analysed using advanced statistical tools (McNemar’s exact test, Cochran’s Q test snd Chi-square test).

Findings: The results indicated that tourists from Western Europe are currently more interested in using medical services in Central and Eastern Europe countries (CEEC) than in the past. Out of CEEC, Poland was the most frequently chosen MTD. Associations with Poland as a MTD were affected by such socio-demographic factors as age and nationality.

Implications & Recommendations: Identification of the growing importance of Poland as a MTD, as well as socio-demographic factors affecting the choice of Poland as a MTD have important implications for scholars, allowing them to understand how medical tourists evaluate the attractiveness of MTDs in Poland, and can be a useful tool for marketing planners, destination managers and marketers to create an effective marketing policy of MTDs in Poland.

Contribution & Value Added: The study fills an important gap regarding the lack of empirical content allowing for the exploration of the attractiveness of MTDs in Poland.

Keywords

Poland, tourism destination attractiveness, medical tourism, medical services

Author Biography

Diana Dryglas

Diana Dryglas, PhD – Assistant Professor at the Department of General Geology and Geotourism, AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland. The author’s research interests focus on the management of a tourism product and tourism destination, and health tourism, especially therapeutic (healing) tourism.

Adrian Lubowiecki-Vikuk

Adrian Lubowiecki-Vikuk, PhD – Lecturer at the Faculty of Tourism and Recreation, Poznan University of Physical Education, Poland. His scientific interests include consumer behaviour in the area of sport, tourism and medicine.

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