Image of Poland as perceived by German and British medical tourists

The study fills an important gap regarding the lack of conceptual and empirical content allowing for exploration of MTD image, and identifies Poland’s image as a medical tourism destination (MTD).

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify Poland’s image as a medical tourism destination (MTD). Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from 282 German and British medical tourists, using a self-administered questionnaire. The Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing method was used to conduct the survey. Subsequently, the responses were analysed using advanced statistical tools (McNemar’s exact test, Cochran’s Q test and Chi-square test). Findings Before visiting Poland, the respondents perceived the country through the prism of medical attributes, whereas after the visit, they perceived it through the prism of non-medical attributes. Research limitations/implications Identification of a set of MTD image characteristics has important implications for scholars, allowing them to understand attributes which shape projected and perceived MTD image. Such construct can also be a useful tool for marketing planners, destination managers and marketers to create an effective marketing policy and projected image of MTDs based on these features. Originality/value The study fills an important gap regarding the lack of conceptual and empirical content allowing for exploration of MTD image.