Value-Based Market Segmentation of West Asian Medical  Tourism Market: A Case of Iran

Leila  Torkzadeh; Habib  Jalilian; Hojjat  Rahmani; Milad  Bakhshi; Saeed  Hashemzadeh; Mohammad  Faryabi; Rahim  Khodayari-Zarnaq

doi:10.18502/ijph.v53i4.15570

Leila Torkzadeh Student Research Committee, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Habib Jalilian Department of Health Services Management, School of Health, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
Hojjat Rahmani Department of Health Management and Economics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Milad Bakhshi Department of Business Management, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
Saeed Hashemzadeh The Chief Executive Officer at Mostafa Hospital, Tehran, Iran
Mohammad Faryabi Department of Management, Faculty of Economics, Management, and Business, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran
Rahim Khodayari-Zarnaq Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Management and Medical Informatics Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijph.v53i4.15570

Keywords: Medical tourism; Health tourism; Market segmentation; Marketing; Clustering

Abstract

Background: Identifying different groups of customers and their preferences and needs enable countries to gain a competitive advantage in the medical tourism market. We aimed to segment medical tourists from West Asian countries seeking medical services in Iran.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 596 medical tourists who sought medical services in Iran in 2021. Data were collected using a valid questionnaire. Segmentation was performed based on medical tourism attributes (medical, destination, and tourism attributes), using cluster analysis methods; wards, and K means. The segments ' evaluation and profiling were conducted using discriminant analysis, chi-square, and one-way ANOVA tests.

Results: Our study divided the market into five segments: health seekers (3.8%), health and destination seekers (8.9%), tourism seekers (17.8%), infrastructure seekers (10.23%), and perfectionism (59.45%). In all segments, the health attributes were of high importance. The perfectionism segment registered the highest score in all three attributes (more than 5 of 6).

Conclusion: Improving health attributes and offering luxurious medical services can be the main strategy for Iran to attract the most medical tourists and achieve a good position in this marketplace. The implication of this study is policymaking for targeting the most profitable segment of this marketplace.