The Key Role of Logistics in Healthcare Tourism: Challenges and Opportunities

Authors

  • Arian Chaparian Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran.
  • Fereshteh Parvaresh * Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8411-6307

https://doi.org/10.22105/ahse.v2i2.39

Abstract

Healthcare tourism is one of the emerging and thriving branches of the tourism industry that has experienced significant growth in recent years. This type of tourism involves people traveling to other countries to receive medical, healthcare, and treatment services. Healthcare tourism is considered a combination of the tourism industry and healthcare services, which brings considerable economic benefits to countries. Among the factors influencing the growth of this type of tourism are the high treatment costs in developed countries, limited access to adequate healthcare services in some countries, the high quality of medical services provided in destination countries, and extensive advertising by governments and related organizations. These factors have caused many people, even from developed countries, to choose other countries for specialized treatments, surgeries, cosmetic services, and medical check-ups. The healthcare tourism supply chain includes a network of businesses, organizations, and entities that provide services and goods related to this type of tourism. This network includes manufacturers of medical equipment, pharmaceutical distributors, hospitals, transportation companies, travel agencies, and tourists. In the present study, we examine the field of healthcare tourism with a focus on logistics and the supply chain, and analyze the strengths and weaknesses related to this area.

Keywords:

Medical tourism, Healthcare tourism, Tourism logistics, Sustainable tourism, Supply chain

References

  1. [1] Jaapar, M., Musa, G., Moghavvemi, S., & Saub, R. (2017). Dental tourism: Examining tourist profiles, motivation and satisfaction. Tourism management, 61, 538–552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.02.023
  2. [2] Skirka, H. (2017). Five-star treatment: Top 10 destinations for medical tourism. https://www.thenationalnews.com/travel/2017/11/29/five-star-treatment-top-10-destinations-for-medical-tourism/
  3. [3] Chen, S., Meng, Q., & Choi, T. M. (2022). Transportation research part e-logistics and transportation review: 25 years in retrospect. Transportation research part E: Logistics and transportation review, 161, 102709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2022.102709
  4. [4] Srisawat, P., Zhang, W., Sukpatch, K., & Wichitphongsa, W. (2023). Tourist behavior and sustainable tourism policy planning in the COVID-19 era: Insights from Thailand. Sustainability, 15(7), 5274. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15075724
  5. [5] Mehta, J., & Deshmukh, R. (2023). Medical tourism market, by treatment type. www.alliedmarketresearch.com
  6. [6] Zhou, J., Wu, J., & Wang, Z. (2023). Destination reputation management: The divergent role of tourists’ word of mouth in urban China. Sustainability, 15(16), 12383. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612383
  7. [7] Heung, V. C. S., Kucukusta, D., & Song, H. (2011). Medical tourism development in Hong Kong: An assessment of the barriers. Tourism management, 32(5), 995–1005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2010.08.012
  8. [8] Fetscherin, M., & Stephano, R.-M. (2016). The medical tourism index: Scale development and validation. Tourism management, 52, 539–556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2015.08.010
  9. [9] Rezaeiahari, M., & Khasawneh, M. T. (2017). An optimization model for scheduling patients in destination medical centers. Operations research for health care, 15, 68–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orhc.2017.09.004
  10. [10] Nilashi, M., Samad, S., Manaf, A. A., Ahmadi, H., Rashid, T. A., Munshi, A., … ., & Hassan Ahmed, O. (2019). Factors influencing medical tourism adoption in Malaysia: A DEMATEL-Fuzzy TOPSIS approach. Computers & industrial engineering, 137, 106005. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2019.106005
  11. [11] Ahmadimanesh, F., Paydar, M. M., & Asadi-Gangraj, E. (2019). Designing a mathematical model for dental tourism supply chain. Tourism management, 75, 404–417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2019.06.001
  12. [12] Cham, T. H., Lim, Y. M., Sia, B. C., Cheah, J. H., & Ting, H. (2021). Medical tourism destination image and its relationship with the intention to revisit: A study of Chinese medical tourists in Malaysia. Journal of china tourism research, 17(2), 163–191. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388160.2020.1734514
  13. [13] Hassan, T. H., & Salem, A. E. (2021). The importance of safety and security measures at Sharm El Sheikh airport and their impact on travel decisions after restarting aviation during the COVID-19 outbreak. Sustainability, 13(9), 5216. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095216
  14. [14] Motevalli-Taher, F., & Paydar, M. M. (2021). Supply chain design to tackle coronavirus pandemic crisis by tourism management. Applied soft computing, 104, 107217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asoc.2021.107217
  15. [15] Kouaissah, N., & Hocine, A. (2023). XOR-best worst method and its assessment to COVID-19 sectorial impact. Annals of operations research, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-023-05534-9
  16. [16] Tănase, M. O., Nistoreanu, P., Dina, R., Georgescu, B., Nicula, V., & Mirea, C. N. (2023). Generation Z Romanian students’ relation with rural tourism—an exploratory study. Sustainability, 15(10), 8166. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15108166
  17. [17] Gajić, T., Minasyan, L. A., Petrović, M. D., Bakhtin, V. A., Kaneeva, A. V, & Wiegel, N. L. (2023). Travelers’ (in)resilience to environmental risks emphasized in the media and their redirecting to medical destinations: Enhancing Sustainability. Sustainability, 15(21), 15297. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152115297
  18. [18] Ekonomou, G., Kallioras, D., Menegaki, A. N., & Alvarez, S. (2023). Tourist preferences for revitalizing wellness products and reversing depopulation in rural destinations. Sustainability, 15(24), 16736. https://doi.org/10.3390/su152416736
  19. [19] Li, Y., & Wen, T. (2023). Impact of cognition and social trust on forest-based health tourism intention during COVID-19. Sustainability, 15(1), 714. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010714
  20. [20] Babaei, Y. S., Sazvar, Z., Nayeri, S., & Tavakkoli-Moghaddam, R. (2024). A two-stage framework for a resilient medical tourism supply chain considering social aspects and supplier evaluation under uncertainty: A real-case study. Annals of operations research, 1–47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-024-06128-9
  21. [21] Charati, M. K., Gholian-Jouybari, F., Hajiaghaei-Keshteli, M., Paydar, M. M., & Sadeghi, F. (2024). Designing a sustainable dental tourism supply chain considering waste treatment. Annals of operations research, 342(1), 173–214. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-023-05779-4
  22. [22] Lin, Z., Xu, X., Demir, E., & Laporte, G. (2025). Optimizing task assignment and routing operations with a heterogeneous fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles for emergency healthcare services. Computers & operations research, 174, 106890. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cor.2024.106890

Downloads

Published

2025-06-21

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 2 (2025): Annals of Healthcare Systems Engineering

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Chaparian, A., & Parvaresh, F. (2025). The Key Role of Logistics in Healthcare Tourism: Challenges and Opportunities. Annals of Healthcare Systems Engineering, 2(2), 100-108. https://doi.org/10.22105/ahse.v2i2.39