ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to determine the factors that influence the attractiveness of a health visit to Surabaya, as a destination for city-based medical tourism. The research design used in this study was an exploratory quantitative approach. This quantitative approach used a factor analysis method (analyzer) and used a questionnaire as a tool to determine the respondent’s perception. There are two groups. The first group is the renderer of services (the management of the health service institution, the management and employees of hospitals, health centers, and health clinics in Surabaya). The second group is the service user (the consumers’ hospital, health center, and health clinic).
This method was carried out in three stages. The first stage determined indicators of factors affecting the appeal of a visit to Surabaya for city-based medical tourism, obtained from the process of extracting data through in-depth interviews with both groups of informants in a preliminary test. The second stage involved a pre-survey of 40 respondents to test if the material questionnaire was understood. The third phase was a structured close-ended question to 400 respondents, consisting of 100 outpatients at the hospital in Surabaya, 100 consumers in Surabaya, and 200 consumers outside Surabaya. The sampling technique was conducted with a purposive non-random sampling.
The results of the research show that there are six factors influencing the attractiveness of a health visit to Surabaya, as a medical tourism-based city. The six factors are: credibility of medical team; quality of service to patient; technology of medical equipment; hospital management; price comparison of benefit; communication with patient and family. Of these, the credibility of the medical team is the highest factor in influencing the appeal of health visits to Surabaya as a medical tourism-based city, and communication with patient and family is the lowest.
The implications include the need for the medical team to make improvements in terms of developing a good communication relationship pattern with patients and their families, developing better ethical and empathic attitudes, and prioritizing patient safety so that people are satisfied. The government also needs to involve relevant industries, such as the health industry, the insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry and the regulators, to ensure integration with local/national tourism development programs.
