Travel behaviour among inbound medical tourists in Kuala Lumpur

Despite recording the highest growth among tourism sub-sectors [Dhesi, D. (2009, March 25). Medical tourism rises in Malaysia despite economic downturn. The Star Online. Retrieved from http://www.malaysiahealthcare.com/; Leonard, T. (2009, July 24). Medical tourists to bring in RM 540 million by 2010. Retrieved from http://www.malaysiahealthcare.com/; Tourism Malaysia. (2008). Profile of tourist by selected markets 2008. Kuala Lumpur: Tourism Malaysia], little is known empirically with regard to travel behaviour among inbound medical tourists in Malaysia. This study examined the demographic profile, travel motivation, healthcare consumption, and expenditure behaviour among them in Kuala Lumpur. Using the combination of purposeful and convenience sampling, a total of 138 questionnaires were completed, returned, and analysed. The majority of the respondents were female, middle aged, travelling with two others and Indonesians. Their main travel motivation factors were ‘value for money’, ‘excellent medical services’, ‘supporting services’, ‘cultural similarity’, and ‘religious factor’ in descending order of importance. Medical treatment, cosmetic procedure, surgical procedure, and medical check-up were important healthcare services sought after by the respondents. On average, medical tourists spent MYR 26,844.19 per visit, with females and tourists of European descent contributing significantly more. Tourists from ASEAN had stronger motivation of ‘cultural similarity’ compared with other tourists. This paper is unique in providing the empirical evidence of the city's unique selling points (pull factors) in attracting inbound medical tourists. It also highlights the potential economic contribution and some managerial implications in terms of marketing and product development.     

How Satisfied are Inbound Medical Tourists in Malaysia? A Study on Private Hospitals in Kuala Lumpur

The study explores inbound medical tourists' satisfaction from 137 respondents sampled using the combination of purposeful and convenience samplings in five private hospitals in Kuala Lumpur. In descending order of scores, medical tourists are most satisfied with doctors, nurses, hospital services, hospital atmosphere, and hospital facilities. Hospital facilities and doctors are the two most important dimensions in influencing the overall satisfaction. There are significant differences in the levels of satisfaction within demographic profiles. The article contributes to knowledge on the establishment of dimensions and items pertinent to measuring medical tourists' satisfaction and the results provide insights into managerial and marketing implications.     

A comparison between Asian and Australasia backpackers using cultural consensus analysis

This study tests the differences in the shared understanding of the backpacker cultural domain between two groups: backpackers from Australasia and backpackers from Asian countries. A total of 256 backpackers responded to a questionnaire administered in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Krabi Province (Thailand). Cultural consensus analysis (CCA) guided the data analysis, to identify the shared values and the differences in the backpacker culture of the two groups. The findings revealed that while the two groups share some of the backpacker cultural values, some other values are distinctively different from one another. The study provides the first empirical evidence of the differences in backpacking culture between the two groups using CCA. Based on the study findings, we propose some marketing and managerial implications.     

Red Palm: exploring service quality and servicescape of the best backpacker hostel in Asia

The Red Palm was voted the best backpacker's hostel in Asia for 2006. This study explores the reasons behind this phenomenal achievement by examining service quality and servicescape of the establishment. Using NVIVO software, data from 192 website comments and eighteen in-depth interviews were content-analysed. The results show that the most important dimension of service quality experience with the Red Palm is tangibles, followed by empathy and assurance. The most important tangible elements of the Red Palm are facilities and equipment, location and the atmosphere of friendliness, welcome and homeliness, and cleanliness. The excellent staff elements include their courtesy, individualised attention and willingness to help. The paper also presents the illustration of Bitner's [(1992). Servicescapes: The impact of physical surroundings on customers and employees. The Journal of Marketing, 56(2), 57–71] servicescape framework in relation to the Red Palm.