A Study of Medical Tourism Cluster Sub-Unit Plans

Abstract

Each local government of South Korea has proposed plans to form a medical tourism cluster in line with the rising medical tourists. These plans, however, have not been implemented anywhere in the country. It is because the plans are more theoretical and less customized to each regional situation thus, requiring a huge budget. In this situation, the author of the present study views it necessary to set up more differentiated medical tourism cluster plans for realistic small-scale clusters according to each local conditions such as specific local criteria, cultural environment, geographical elements and hospital locational conditions and status. From this perspective, an answer can be gained by looking at regions with spontaneously-activated medical tourism. This research seeks to analyze such regions to find a key to medical tourism sub-clusters that can be built without a huge budget and are appropriate for the South Korean medical tourism market. And it is viewed more proper for the national medical tourism situation that these sub-units, if established closer, build connection and grow larger together in combination spontaneously. To this end, in this study, the domestic medical tourism flow was analyzed to review the background and current situation of medical tourism cluster introduction and corresponding medical tourism cluster attributions were surveyed. A central facility was designed in line with the attributes together with composition plans. These plans were applied to areas selected herein as that favorable for spontaneous cluster growth. The plans are deemed meaningful as a criterion for the medical tourism cluster plans.