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Dental tourism: Examining tourist profiles, motivation and satisfaction

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  • Jaapar, Mustaffa
  • Musa, Ghazali
  • Moghavvemi, Sedigheh
  • Saub, Roslan

Abstract

Despite the overwhelming interest in medical tourism research, knowledge in dental tourism, which is its subspecialty, remains limited. This study is the first to measure tourist profiles, travel motivation and satisfaction among inbound dental tourists in Malaysia. We purposely sampled twelve selected private dental clinics in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Melaka and Penang; and distributed the questionnaires to their inbound dental tourists. A total of 196 inbound tourists responded to the questionnaire, mainly from Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. In order of importance, the main motivation factors were dental care quality, dental care information access, and cost-savings. Tourists were extremely satisfied with dental care services received in the country. While dental care quality, dental care information access and supporting services positively influenced tourist satisfaction; cost-savings and cultural similarities had negative influences. Based on the research findings, we propose some managerial and marketing recommendations.

Suggested Citation

  • Jaapar, Mustaffa & Musa, Ghazali & Moghavvemi, Sedigheh & Saub, Roslan, 2017. "Dental tourism: Examining tourist profiles, motivation and satisfaction," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 538-552.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:touman:v:61:y:2017:i:c:p:538-552
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2017.02.023
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    3. Damir Demonja & Nebojša Uglješiæ, 2020. "Dental tourism and business risks: the example of the Republic of Croatia," Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems - scientific journal, Croatian Interdisciplinary Society Provider Homepage: http://indecs.eu, vol. 18(4), pages 425-445.
    4. Flavia Dana Oltean & Manuela Rozalia Gabor & Aurélia-Felicia Stăncioiu & Mihaela Kardos & Marta Kiss & Roxana Cristina Marinescu, 2020. "Aspects of Marketing in Dental Tourism—Factor of Sustainable Development in Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-13, May.
    5. Prentice, Catherine & Hsiao, Aaron, 2021. "Travel deterrents to regional destinations," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    6. Suseela Devi Chandran & Fadilah Puteh & Nur Alia Azmi & Norazah Mohd Suki, 2020. "Exploring the development of medical tourism industry in Southeast Asia region," International Journal of Business Ecosystem & Strategy (2687-2293), Bussecon International Academy, vol. 2(3), pages 28-32, July.
    7. Salman Majeed & Changbao Lu & Mahwash Majeed & Muahmmad Naeem Shahid, 2018. "Health Resorts and Multi-Textured Perceptions of International Health Tourists," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-26, April.
    8. Pham Ngoc Thuy & Le Nguyen Hau & Nguyen Kim Ngoc Duyen, 2019. "A value perspective of service interaction quality: the case of immigrants returning to native countries as medical tourists," International Journal of Quality Innovation, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 1-15, December.
    9. Norman Zakiyy, 2021. "Legitimizing Workforce Reduction: A Review on Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak to the Economy," European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies Articles, Revistia Research and Publishing, vol. 7, July -Dec.

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