Sand, surgery and stakeholders: A multi-stakeholder involvement model of domestic medical tourism for Australia’s Sunshine Coast

Abstract

This paper explores the developments of domestic medical tourism for Australia's Sunshine Coast. Most studies have characterised medical tourism to be an outbound phenomenon, where affluent tourists select mostly developing destinations for elective surgeries due to cost, quality or faster access to treatments. However, studies concerned with domestic medical tourism remain highly implicit. Employing a case study perspective of the Sunshine Coast, Australia, this research explored the potential for domestic medical tourism to be conceived. This research found that while most stakeholders considered the region to be well-suited for medical tourism, three issues presented some barriers to its development. The three issues were residents' access to hospital facilities, lack of cooperation and hostile attitudes between practitioners. This research shows the contested battlegrounds of domestic medical tourism initiatives, and how the development of a multi-stakeholder involvement model of medical tourism can bring desired outcomes to fruition.