Characteristics of Demand on Medical Tourism from the Republic of Karelia, Russia, to Finland

• Main Author: Silvanovich, Sofia
• Other Authors: Savonia-ammattikorkeakoulu
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: Savonia-ammattikorkeakoulu 2015
• Subjects: matkailu; terveysmatkat; terveydenhoito; terveyspalvelut; venäläiset; Suomi; Tourism; medical tourism; Russian customers; characteristics of demand; income elasticity of demand; fi=Liiketalous; hallinto ja markkinointi|sv=Företagsekonomi; förvaltning och marknadsföring|en=Business Management; Administration and Marketing|; Degree Programme in International Business; karelia*; Republic of Karelia
• Online Access: http://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/94552

Medical tourism is currently an industry that entails a huge potential and thus draws the attention of governments and companies worldwide. On these grounds, Finland is now concerned with providing health services for foreign patients, especially from the Russian Federation, and endeavors to increase the medical tourism flow to the country. Nevertheless, unstable economic conditions of the Russian Federation represent an obstacle for the industry’s development. The purpose of the thesis was to investigate the characteristics of the demand on medical tourism, to discover which measures for customer attraction to Finland could be proposed. Hence, the study aimed at revealing the most important motives behind engaging in health travelling, the most demanded fields of medicine, alterations in the demand since the beginning of 2014 as well as the possible methods to obliterate problems in the industry. The most significant feature was income elasticity of demand, which allowed comprehending the tourism flow’s sensitivity to the Ruble fluctuations. The research subject was the residents of the Republic of Karelia, one of the proximate territories to Finland. The theoretical framework presented an overview of the tourism industry as a whole and medical travelling as its element. Furthermore, the Russian medical tourism market and the special characteristics of Finnish healthcare were elaborated in the paper. The practical research utilized quantitative methods, namely structured questionnaires, which were later analyzed with Webropol tools. The study discovered that the medical tourism development in Finland was rather extensive. Remarkably, the demand on the service appeared highly elastic; consequently, it was advised to postpone promotional activities until the international climate stabilizes. The investigation may serve as a basis for marketing plans of Finnish hospitals and medical subsidiary companies.