The Impact of Social Network on Italian Users' Behavioural Intention for the Choice of a Medical Tourist Destination

Abstract

Tourism represents one of the most important industries in the global economy. Medical tourism is not a new phenomenon: mankind has traveled to foreign lands to access treatment for many years. Current research in information and communication technology considerably affects the tourism industry by providing innovative tools capable, on the one hand, of supporting tourists in organizing their holidays and, on the other, of supplying fast and efficient information on tourist destination. Published literature shows that many aspects of medical tourists' behavior are under-researched. One of these aspects is the impact of social media on tourists' behavior for the choice of tourist medical destination, which is the original focus of this research. This paper explores how a social network can become a strategic platform using eWOM (electronic Word of Mouth) as a tool for disseminating fast and detailed information for the choice of medical tourist destination. A survey instrument was used to collect information from Italian active users of a social network: Facebook. Data was solicited from 960 active, experienced users. The findings support the development of medical tourism communication strategies focused on the online contexts as factors capable of influencing medical tourists' behavior in a more efficient way. Implications and future research directions are discussed.