Abstracts
The combination of medical treatment and tourism seems to be a promising new type of niche tourism in Taiwan since their government has implemented New South Policy. The number of tourists from Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam has recently increased incredibly. This qualitative study was conducted to explore an understanding of Vietnamese visitors’ perception on medical tourism in Taiwan. The interviews were conducted with 25 Vietnamese tourists who travelled to Taiwan. A content analysis method was applied for data analysis, which identified 324 incidents in three major themes of (1) perceived destination image, (2) perceptions on medical quality, and (3) worries on medical tourism. The results reveal that most of the Vietnamese visitors received good image on Taiwan’s tourist attraction, friendly people, similar culture, advanced infrastructure, green environment and convenient shopping. Despite of not using medical treatment in Taiwan yet, many of the visitors still defined good medical quality in Taiwan with skillful doctors/nurses and clean hospital environment, often by comparing with those in their home country. They also expressed their concerns about language difficulties and financial issues of high medical fee and extra expense for flights, commission, and accommodation. The study suggests the Taiwan government, hospitals and travel agencies together have more marketing activities to promote their image on Vietnamese people in Vietnam and in Taiwan.
Keywords: Medical tourism, destination image, medical quality, foreign customers’ perception, Taiwan.
JEL classification: I; I1; I13.
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Ban biên tập Tạp chí Kinh tế & Quản trị Kinh doanh
Phòng 514, Nhà điều hành, trường Đại học Kinh tế & Quản trị Kinh doanh
Địa chỉ: Phường Tân Thịnh, thành phố Thái Nguyên
Email: tapchikt-qtkd@tueba.edu.vn; Điện thoại: 0208.3903373
