Health, Wellness and Tourism: healthy tourists, healthy business ...

The table below recapitulates the main findings.
Value Medical tourism service Internet
Functional -cost differential
-abilities of surgeon and nursing
staff
-equipment quality
-quality of care
-importance of the recovery period
-assets of the Tunisian offer
(cultural similarity, geographical
proximity, reputation)
Social -turning to a well-known service
provider
-enhancing self-image
-Maintaining remote communication
through e-mails (making the steps
prior to the service contract easier,
and facilitating post-operative
follow-up)
-easy and quick information
gathering
-sharing experiences
-formation of groups and social
connections
Emotional -positive and/or negative feelings
resulting from the experience
Epistemic -information search tool regarding
service providers, costs, treatment
(before and after the operation)
Conditional -high costs in France
-long waiting lists in teaching
hospitals
-no coverage for cosmetic surgery
Summary of the dimensions of perceived value in the context of medical tourism
Conclusion
This research shows that the medical tourism experience and the use of the Internet in this
context include a set of value dimensions. Knowing the contribution of each value dimension
to consumers’ choice, and in our case to the choice of medical tourists, gives valuable
information to managers (Williams and Soutar, 2000), enabling them to better understand the
concerns and expectations of medical tourists. Like in other studies, it thus seems obvious that
the contribution of functional value is highly significant in the perceived value (Cengiz and
Kirkbir, 2007), especially as regards costs. It is also interesting to note that despite the
importance of costs, medical tourists would not be able to overcome their apprehension if
services were of poor quality; which explains the importance of other aspects of functional
value, such as the surgeon’s skills, the quality of care and the modernity of the equipment. It
is therefore essential that health establishments undergo certification and accreditation to
enhance their reputation.
The functional value of the Internet tool lies in its ability to guarantee a permanent contact. It
is thus essential to optimize the potentialities of the tool. However, and in conjunction with
other studies (Williams and Soutar, 2000, Sanchez et al. 2006), the importance of the
functional dimension in the perception of value should not make us forget the contribution of
other aspects.
Medical tourists see in the Internet tool, and particularly in forums, an effective means of
sharing experience, finding positive stimulation, and especially of finding information on the