An Examination of the Supply-Side Stakeholders’ Views towards Health Tourism Investments in the Region of Thessaly, Greece

Abstract

The study aims to examine the views of local executives and managers in Thessaly, Greece related to the potential profitability of investing in the health tourism industry. Furthermore, the study attempts to shed some light on the factors that affect their views about health tourism investments. The data are collected through self-administered questionnaires to stakeholders in facilities that have the potential, or they are already, engaged in the health tourism industry. The sample is collected from a wide range of facilities, namely hotels, hospitals, private clinics, rehabilitation centres and nursing homes. Kendall’s tau-b correlation statistics and logistic regression models are employed to detect the driving forces on the formation of attitudes towards health tourism investments. Current research regarding health tourism in Greece is rather limited. In addition, the majority of relevant international studies examines factors shaping the demand side. The present study utilizes a sample from the supply side, thus of stakeholders in related sectors and can enhance our knowledge about their stances towards health tourism investments and the factors shaping these stances.