Shaping Malaysia’s medical tourism image: Matters most to patients and strategic implications

Medical tourists now demand affordable yet high-quality medical care beyond their home countries, and Malaysia is one of their best choices. However, some studies address the inconsistency of service quality, disjointed patient experiences, and poor coordination between the tourism and healthcare sectors. These issues hinder the potential for sustaining the medical tourism industry. Therefore, this comprehensive study examines how medical healthcare attractions within Malaysian hospitals impact destination image perceptions. Focusing on private hospitals accredited by the Malaysian Healthcare Travel Council, our research employed a combination of face-to-face interviews and Structural Equation Modeling techniques to analyze the influence of independent variables on destination image formation. Our empirical findings revealed that attributes such as cost, quality, accessibility, and treatment availability positively influence destination image, thereby enhancing the destination's appeal for medical tourism endeavors. Theoretically, we emphasize the importance of prioritizing the enhancement of medical healthcare attractions and destination image, aligning with the principles of Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior. Practically, our study highlights the need for stakeholders to strengthen existing attractions and develop a robust online presence, particularly through social media platforms, to facilitate the formulation of effective marketing strategies and promote sustainable industry growth within medical tourism hubs like Malaysia.