Fourth International Conference on Tourism and Leisure Studies

Abstract

The objective of this study is to explore the medical tourism experiences of the medical tourists in the Philippines in order to shed light on the medical tourism practices in the country. This paper will draw insights to address the gaps in medical tourism experience and practices that strengthens the call for more researches for evidence on the process and outcomes of medical tourism procedure to include recommendation to develop strategy to encourage growth of medical tourism in the country.. A qualitative-survey method was used for such an exploratory research. This employed a phenomenological approach through the use of narrative analysis to interpret the data. The 15 respondents were acquired through the use of the snowball technique, and they were characterized through purposive sampling technique to specifically include Koreans studying in the Philippines. An in-depth audio-recorded interview was used to gather the data which goes through coding and thematic analysis. The study generates four themes wherein one of which, reveals drawbacks of the medical tourism outcomes. This study will elicit implications for related research in the industry and provides useful information for the hospitality and medical tourism industry.