Medical tourism : factors affecting the attractiveness of medical tourism sector in Lithuania

Abstract

Although medical tourism is still in its early stages, it is a rapidly evolving trend around the world. There is not much research done on this topic as it is quite a new phenomenon which attracted the interest of academics only in the late 1990s. With this in mind, the main purpose of this long essay is to analyse the factors which affect the attractiveness of the medical tourism sector in Lithuania and in order to do so, empirical study using mixed methodology was made. To answer the research question the first section of methodology using quantitative research method focused on assessing the motives of foreign people when choosing a medical destination. Following that, a qualitative research method was used in order to understand what determines the medical tourism situation in Lithuania. Thereafter, interviews with specialists and representatives of the market were analysed using SWOT analysis so strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Lithuania’s medical tourism market. Furthermore, given the findings and analysis, suggestions of how to improve the attractiveness and competitiveness of Lithuania’s medical tourism were provided in the last section of the long essay.